#also yes Marinette lovers her parents

[stareyedmoonchildworks]

Daminette Corpse Bride AU

Well AU-ish

Original Post

So we left off in the land of the living and learned that Marinette's groom is hoping She's not found so he doesn't have to get his hands dirty.

In comes in either Luka or Felix (whichever fits your preference) as they have known the Dupain-Cheng's for some time.

For drama purposes, they could have romantic feelings for Marinette or you go the platonic love route where they are there to see if her groom is worthy of their friend. (He's definitely not worthy.)

When they arrive, they hear the news bellower shouting out the most recent news while ringing the bell.

"EXTRA! EXTRA! The only daughter of the Dupain-chengs goes missing after disastrous rehearsal!"

That has them booking it to the bakery where both families are sitting together trying to figure out how to find Marinette.

However, they notice that it her groom seems to have no interest in finding her as he seems to be zoning everything out. That pisses them off.

After introductions are made, they ask the groom to walk with them, in the guise of finding and clues as to where Marinette could have gone.

They reach the church and go around back to see if there's anything there, and that when Luka/Felix pin her groom to the wall.

"What the hell is your problem?! Your bride is missing, and you don't seem the least bit worried! Don't you love her?! Marinette is an amazing girl, and anyone would be lucky to have her as their partner!"

"If I didn't know any better I would say you love my bride. If she's such an amazing girl as you say then why don't you marry her?" - The groom

This pisses off Luka/Felix more, resulting in the groom getting a black eye.

Now this seem entertaining to the groom, and now wants to marry Marinette out of spite. Just to rub it in their faces.

Perhaps marriage does has its benefits.

When they get back to bakery, they fawned over Marinette's groom. Which he resumed them the black eye was caused by his own clumsiness.

Luka/Felix really don't like him.

In the land of the dead:

Marinette is honestly kinda terrified, but at the same time living her best life

Ever since spending time with the Wayne family she's seen a change with herself.

She's more outgoing and relaxed around them. Especially with Damian.

She honestly thinks that perhaps if she met Damian when he was alive, she would choose to marry him instead.

Damian and Marinette spend a lot of time together. He discovers her interests, the things that make her laugh, her fears, and the fire that hides within her heart.

When he told of her of his family's demise. She didn't show sympathy but rather angled that someone would do such a thing to them. Especially after learning all the good they did for their community.

It almost looked like she was about to commit murder.

Just when he thought he couldn't fall for her anymore.

Meanwhile his family are spying from a reasonable distance. Some are even hiding in some of the coffins lying around the area.

They are so invested in this relationship. More than they should be.

"I never seen baby bird fall this hard for someone before" - Dick

"Tell me about it. He didn't even show half of the emotion he's showing her to his ex-fiance" - tim

"She could do better." - Jason

"Shut up, Jason" practically everyone in the batfam

"Fuck you!" - jason

Don't get Jason wrong her loves the "demon spawn," and loves Marinette, bit he's a realist.

He's read the vows, and come on, Damian's a dead dude.

"Till death do us part." Dpnes anyone else remember that line? No? Just him? OK then.

He really hates the fact that they are setting themselves for heartache.

One day, Marinette asks Damian why they haven't moved on yet.

He tells her it is because he knew his family was so excited to see him get married, and when it was about to happen, they all died. He wanted to make them proud, and show them that they didn't need to worry about him no more.

"Eell, if you want I could marry you." - Marinette

"I couldn't ask that of you Marinette," - Damian

"But I want to." - Marinette

Damian swears his long since dead heart skipped a beat .

They announce the wedding and Marinette says it will be upstairs.

Everyone is excited.

Cue the scean where everyone is getting ready for the wedding here.

In the land of the living

Everyone is freaking out the dead is brought back to life.

Then, realise they mean no harm. Live relatives get to spend some time with those who have long since passed.

Luka/Felix see Marinette in her wedding dress in the crowd of the dead and can't help but feel a sense of dread wash over them

Her original groom sees the Wayne family with Marinette and can't help but feel fear and anger.

At the church, the ceremony is being held when Luka/Felix come in when they said speek now or forever hold your peace woth her original groom in tow

* insert shocked wedding guests here*

A dual breaks out between luka/Felix between Damian.

Marinette's original groom hold her back to keep her from interfering. He's high-key hoping that Luka/Felix die

Some how they talk it out during the dual and Damian realizes that luka/Felix what the same thing as him; for Marinette to be happy.

He turns to Marinette, and getting a good look at her original groom, he says their name.

"Hello, Damian. It's funny seeing you and your family here when you should all be 6 feet under." - Marinette's original groom, he says, pulling out a knife and holding it up against Marinette's throat.

It is here we find out the Original Groom and his family worked for the Wayne's and where the ones to poison them.

Turns out the original groom was greedy, always wanting what he couldn't have. Thus, he manipulated his family to help him commit murder and steal the Wayne family fortune.

He fights with the Wayne's + Luka/Felix and is able to hold his own.

He tires and gives Marinette up,

congratulating her on having such great mates.

They all glare at him and watch as he drinks from the chalice that Damian told Marinette only he would drink from.

*insert dying noises here*

Everyone dead minus the the Wayne's and Alfred go to give Marinette's original groom a "warm welcome"

Spoiler: it was not welcoming at all.

Marinette hugs luka/felix as Damian watches.

Damian sees she's in good hands and can't help but feel at peace knowing that.

Turing to him, Marinette asks if he still wants to continue the wedding, but he says no.

Little my little he and his family start to turn into butterfly.

Damian then tells her that he no longer wishes to be married bow that he is happy and at peace. It is then revealed that that is why the rest of his family stayed behind.

All they wanted was to finally see him happy.

Marinette gave him a bone crushing hug which he reciprocated, and one by one the rest of his family joined in.

Marinette cries when they all disappeared, and all that was left between her arms was air.

Luka/Felix held her until she felt better.

After the event her original groom's family was held accountable as accomplices to murder.

The Dupain-Cheng bakery saw an influx of customers and were able to expand their business, with the help of Luka/Felix

Marinette happily stays single, and lives out her wildest dreams.

Maybe even adopts in the future

Alternative ending 1:

Marinette and luka/Felix spend more time together after the event

Slowly fall I'm love

Marinette is still able to live out her dreams with a supportive partner.

They get married

Alternative Ending 2:

Rather than moving on Damian and his family come back to live, able to once more walk amongst the living.

"If I had a nick for every time I died and was brought back to life, I'd have two Nicole. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice," Jason

"The first time doesn't count as it was faked," tim

"I'm alive! How many years has it been? Do you think Barbara and Wally are older than me now or..., " Dick, just happy to be alive and able to contact friends.

Duke and Cass are smiling, happy to be alive, and for Marinette and Damian, finally able to be together.

Damian is hugging Marinette happy he is able to hold her in his arms. Happy that he can be with her

Alfred and Bruce have to interupt them, so they can formally meet Marinette's family, and press charges against her original grooms family.

A year later Marinette is walking aboung the aisle with her father.

Luka/Felix is her best man

Damian feels like he's the luckiest man in the world.

Alternative Ending 3:

The boys don't make it on time to object.

Marinette decides she'd rather be with someone eho makes her happy.

He drinks from the Chalice even though Damian tried to talk her out if it.

" I'd rather be with you in death rather than later marry someone who I can not bring myself to feel the way I do when I am with you." - Marinette

"Are you sure this is what you want?" - Damian

Marinette smiles and drinks from the chalice.

When the boys arrive, those of the dead are long gone, and so is Marinette

She and the Wayne's live happily ever after in the afterlife.

The end.

Tags:

@zalladane @draco-kasai @heldtogetherbysafetypins @emilykeys

[mochinek0]

Daminette December 2022: 1-Ice

(NOTE: This was inspired by the 'Elation' trailer only-IF you are avoiding Miraculous Ladybug trailers, DO NOT READ!!!!)

Marinette smiled as her partner took her around the city. She had a grown to have greater appreciation for him. Chat Noir was always there for her. He was steadily becoming her best friend, in and out of the mask. Even when everything and everyone seemed against her at school, she had Chat Noir and Damian.

Marinette had never been happier then when her Nona introduced them. Damian had needed a bit of help with a project for his rivalry with his brothers. He proudly stated he didn't need her assistance and to go back to playing dress up. She had sneakily set up a booby trap in his room and made his life a living hell for three days until he gave up and asked for her help.

Marinette smiled fondly at the memory.

"Beg me." She spoke.

"What?" He shouted.

"Get on your knees and beg me." She repeated, "You wasted three of my days when I could have been working. It's your own fault; you're too prideful. Your revenge probably would have been finished by now."

Damian had glared at her and sighed. He got on his knees and his cheeks tinted pink.

"Please," he growled out, "help me with my revenge."

Marinette smiled, "Of course. So, which trap was your favorite and who are we getting first? Also, are we doing irreversible damage that is seen as childish and petty or all out war?"

"How many siblings do you have?" Damian questioned.

"I'm an only child." She answered.

"How do you know about traps then?" He asked.

"Bullies. One of them said they forgot something in my room. My parents let them up without my permission and they tried to steal my diary. Their hand was trapped in a box until I unlocked it." She replied.

"Effective." He responded.

Marinette nodded, "I had moved onto trapping my school supplies and locker. Someone broke in and was splattered with a glue and glitter bomb. The school got mad and tried to expel me. So, I took it up with the school board about defending my property and there were no locks. Our principal had said he updated the lockers months ago. They weren't happy with him. He was fired; turned out he had been using the school's money as his personal piggy bank. Lockers were updated and the person who got bombed was suspended. There's an internal investigation going on."

Damian smirked, "All that from a glitter bomb?"

"What can I say?" She asked, "When I get creative, sometimes it's chaotic."

After getting his revenge, Damian Wayne asked her out.

It didn't matter anymore if her classmates apologized. She was sure there was going to be a lot of changes after the internal investigation. She couldn't wait for the can of worms that was going to be unleashed that had Lila's name all over it. Lila Rossi made her see that her feelings for Adrien were too extreme. She deserved better than someone who let her get bullied. He never had her back, like he promised. Adrien Agreste had become a coward in her eyes.

"We're here, Princess!" Chat Noir cried out, gleefully.

'Oh, right; Andre's.'

Andre looked between the two teenagers, upset.

'Why are they together again? It will never work.'

"Look who's here!" he spoke, "Marinette, Chat Noir? What are you doing here?"

"We're here for your ice cream." Chat answered, "Unless you sell hot dogs."

"What a joke, this Chat Noir." Andre commented, as the two laughed, "But I am the glacier of lovers! Not the ice cream parlor of pranksters and good friends. You, Chat Noir, are in love with Ladybug and you, Marinette, are madly in love with Adrien Agreste."

Marinette just blinked. She wasn't sure if she had heard Andre correctly.

'Did he just declare I was in love with Adrien, in front of Chat Noir?'

Adrien felt his cheeks warm up under the mask.

'Marinette is in love with me?'

"You're wrong." Marinette spoke.

"Huh?" Andre commented.

"I'm not in love with Adrien Agreste." Mari spoke again.

"Yes, you are." Andre smiled, before making her sweetheart cone, "Matcha for his eyes and almond for his skin."

Andre smiled, smugly, as he handed Marinette her scoop. Marinette smiled as she took the cone. Chat Noir watched as she took a bite, before smiling from the flavor combination.

"My sweetheart cone for Adrien was pistachio and peach, but this describes my boyfriend perfectly." Marinette declared.

Andre froze in shock. Chat Noir slowly turned and looked at her.

"You......have a boyfriend?" he asked.

"Yep." Marinette smiled, "It took me awhile to see how cowardly Adrien was."

"Cowardly?" Chat asked, hurt by her answer.

"Yeah. There's this liar at our school. She's been bullying me, threatening me, basically gotten me expelled twice. Adrien told me it was fine she was lying to everyone and that he would have my back." She spoke, "He never 'had my back' when the people I thought were my friends tripped me, spilled things on my homework or designs, or spread lies about me."

Adrien felt himself shrink under her words. He had promised her, but....He couldn't risk his father being angry at him with Lila around. He had just convinced his father to let him quit modeling.

"If anything, that liar showed me that he wasn't who I thought he was. After that, my feelings for him faded pretty fast." Mari continued, taking another bite of her sweetheart ice cream, "I liked him because he was honest and kind; just not to me. Honestly, he's not for me. My Nona introduced me to a great guy and he asked me out."

Chat Noir gulped, "You-You sound happy."

Marinette smiled, "I haven't been this happy in a long time. He doesn't mind my rambles about fabric and colors. I can bounce ideas for fashion off of him and if I can't seem to design something right, he helps me. He doesn't even like fashion; but he's there for me. He sends me pictures of all his animals. Whenever I get close to being akumatized, I talk to him and he makes everything better."

"A-Akumatized?" Chat questioned.

Marinette turned to the miraculous hero and nodded.

"What? When? How?" he growled out.

"I've almost been akumatized several times since that liar came to school. So far, I've been managing, but.......my parents have started to notice them. I feel like they're planning on sending me out of Paris soon. I don't know if they will send me to Shanghai or if I'd travel with my Nona. I doubt they would send me to live with my boyfriend and his family, but my Nona might." she concluded, "She thinks of them as a second family, a very chaotic family."

Chat felt like he couldn't breathe. He couldn't imagine going to school as Adrien and Marinette not being there. He thought the high road would make verything better. Now, it seemed like it made everything worse.

"Your ice cream is magical, Andre, but you expect too much." Marinette spoke, "You can't force people to be together. Our hearts know. It just takes awhile for us to see through everything that we hoped to be true."

"What do you mean, Princess?" Chat questioned, ignoring the Ice Cream Man's glare.

"I once saw a future with Adrien. A house full of kids; three of them, but it wasn't real." she stated, "When something makes us happy, we want to hold onto it for as long as we can. It's hard to move on. We're scared of falling for someone again, only to be rejected."

Marinette turned to Chat Noir.

"Like your love for Ladybug." Mari smiled.

Chat sucked in his breath. She hadn't realized he had been trying to take her out on a date.

"I-I'm trying to. I really am. She told me she was in love with someone else. I have to respect her wishes, even if it hurts." Chat admitted, before quickly facing Andre, "Can I have a sweetheart ice cream cone?"

Andre looked between the pair. They truly were different people from the last time they had come to his shop.

Andre nodded and smiled, "Blueberry for their hair and bubblegum for their bubbly personality."

Chat Noir took his cone and gulped.

'Please, don't let her figure it out. I already know I waited too long; she's already taken.'

Marinette looked at him and smiled, "I hope you find whoever makes you happy."

"Me too." he answered.

"Thanks for the ice cream, Andre." Marinette smiled as she took another bite and began to walk away.

Chat quickly trailed after her.

TAG LIST: @maribat-calendar-events @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus

[beezonia]

Okay I finally have teams for both mari and adrien so I’m gonna share here!

I just picked out types I thought would match well with them and gave them pokèmon from that type!

This is just for fun anyway (might write like a few little drabbles for this but idk)

————-

Marinette’s team!

Her types were between Fairy/bug/grass

Floette

Swirlix

Alcremie - Ruby Swirl

Fomantis

Leavanny

Leadian - Tikki

Most of her pokèmon represent her life in a bakery in Lumiose city her swirlix was a gift from her parents when she turned 16!

But her Leavanny and Floette are there to represent the designs (floette) and the hard work she puts into making her designs a reality (Leavanny)

Fomantis is like there to represent the finished design and product due to Lurantis being a really beautiful design for itself!

Yeah tikki is a ledian like always Idk what to say about that

——-

Now for Adrien’s Team

His team was like a mix between Fire/fairy/rock

And the rock is there to represent Emilie who was a rock type specialist in this au before she passed

Torracat - Plagg

Ceruledge

Umbreon

Fidough

Audino - His father gave him an Audinite to be stronger

Hatterene

Also a tyrunt to represent his mother (rock type lover emilie had a lycanrock as her main)

So torracat is shiny and is there to represent Adrien’s fight for freedom and his chat noir persona align with his umbreon

Ceruledge is there to represent his fencing and his strength in dark times

Fidough is there to represent his mothers/aunt love for dog pokèmon and Adrien being insanely connected to fairy types because yes

Same with audino, who’s been with him the longest and was there to comfort him after his mother dies

His audino is his strongest pokèmon hence why Gabriel gives him the audinite

And hatterene was just there to be like protective over Adrien much like audino but also again fairy types!

——

Yeah let me know if you’d like to know more!!

[axis-was-killed]

So.. do you want to kiss?

Jasonette, childhood friends to lovers for Lee

Edit: LEE IM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE! LIFE HAPPENED AND I COULDN'T DO THE FIC I'M SO SO SORRY. HOPE YOU AND YOUR FAM HAD A GREAT HOLIDAY BREAK! AGAIN IM SO SORRY

Before you begin to read, canon has been thrown THE FUCK out the window. :> enjoy this mess lmao. Also Marinette is younger than Jason by a year, so she’ll always be the one with the smallest age when mentioned (aside from tim, damian, etc.) also this’ll probably be multiple (or just two, idk) chapters

Tw: cuss warning, (small) mentions of drugs and death.

«Story starts here»

:Jason’s perspective:

Jason didn’t really know what was going on. All he knew was that he and Marinette were in danger. At the ripe old age of 10, Jason was taking care of a 9 year old Marinette. They were living in the streets, stealing food just so they wouldn't starve. All in all just not having a good time.

You see, living in Gotham was bad enough, but living in Gotham, on the streets, as a kid? You’re almost always fucked. So Jason did what he swore he’d never do after the incident. He teamed up with someone.

You see, last time he had teamed up with a boy named Austin. He was 12, while Jason was 8. Austin had gone into a store to get them food that would last them for about a week. It ended with Austin getting caught. Turns out the store was just a front for some underground drug dealers. And since they couldn’t have anyone finding out, they decided to kill Austin.

For a little over a year, Jason swore he wouldn’t work with anyone else. He didn’t want a repeat of Austin. However, when Jason was just shy of turning 10, a little girl stumbled across him. Literally. She had almost knocked him over.

The girl had bruises, and was bleeding. She couldn’t have been more than 8 (which she later confirmed).

She obviously was new to the streets, as her clothes weren’t that dirty, and she didn’t look like she knew what she was doing. Jason almost left, if it weren’t for the fact that she held him back by the sleeve.

“Please help me! My parents… they left me alone here! I- I don’t know what to do…“ the girl cried.

“Listen, I don’t do ‘teamwork’. So sorry, but I can’t help you. Now let me go,” Jason hadn’t intended for it to sound harsh.

“F-fine! But… can you at least teach me how to survive..?”

Jason stayed quiet. He noticed that the girl had let go of his sleeve. However, he didn’t run. Instead, he made a decision that would forever change him.

“Fine. I’ll teach you how to survive. But after that, I’ll never see you again. Understood?”

The girl's eyes lit up with hope. She was quick to nod. “Yes yes! I’ll leave afterwards. Thank you!”

«time skip: 13 months»

Jason and Marinette were soon an inseparable pair. If you saw one, the other was always close behind. Although their original deal was “I teach you, then you leave me alone”, it changed by a lot. The new deal was now at “We’re partners in crime. Deal with it”.

However, it all changed when Jason decided to steal The Dark Knights wheels.

~~~~~~

Jason didn’t really know what was going on. All he knew was that he and Marinette were in danger. At the ripe ages of 9 and 10, Jason and Marinette thought they were going to die. Jason had just stolen the wheels off The Bat’s car, and he knew he had gotten caught.

Living in the streets made you grow up fast. It’s a tough lesson Jason had learned at a young age. One that Marinette learned soon after.

They were currently being chased by Batman, but it didn’t feel like they were making much progress. Everything felt so slow. It finally ended though, when Jason felt something grab him by the collar of his shirt.

That was the last night Marinette ever saw him again.

[legends-live-in-memories]

Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century

AYO! Day 2 of MGI Trope Tussle! Team Enemies-to-Lovers for the win. I bring you another oneshot. but this time i used 3 prompts like a dumbass.

Fics Masterlist

Daminette Oneshot 4.3K words (no warnings except slight cursing)

Summary:

“Marinette is invited to the Super-Rockin' Wedding of the Century and she needs a date. Alya is both her best and worst wingman.”

Day 2 of MGI Trope Tussle, I used 3 prompts to make this thing: 1. "You don't have to like me, you just need to pretend you do." 2. "I like your costume. You look very cute." "Are you making fun of me?" 3. 'Write about a very unusual wedding proposal.' this is the culmination of all my efforts.

without further ado:

It was the biggest news on the internet. Global sensation, international rockstar, Jagged Stone, was officially engaged to childhood friend turned manager, Penny Rolling. Memes and fan theories stormed every corner of the web. Trending topics including #rockstar_wedding and #RollingStone permeated every social media platform. Guest lists were speculated, dress designers were tagged in every post that even mentioned the words ‘wedding’ or ‘bride’. It was total mayhem but none felt it worse than up-and-coming Parisian designer, M. D. Cheng, privately known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

The young adult was up to her neck in design templates, and was drowning in half-baked ideas and sketches. While the internet has only heard about the proposal for a solid two weeks at this point, Marinette was in the know for six months. Jagged Stone had contacted her in advance because he needed her help with the proposal itself.

And what a proposal it was.  

Jagged had outlined his idea in simple terms but it was still so mind-boggling that Marinette needed him to draw some visual aids to completely convey his idea. Initially it sounded simple enough but the more the man spoke, the more Marinette felt her brain fry at the mental picture. It first involved recreating a scene from Penny’s favourite movie. Which sounded rather romantic, if you ignored the fact that her favourite movie was Bride of Chucky. Then it involved Jagged dressed as the Tinman from Wizard of Oz. Oh, and the proposal had to happen on Halloween because that was the anniversary of their first date apparently, and based on everything else this plan entailed it might as well have been. Marinette’s role in all of this was to simply re-make the white wedding dress Chucky’s bride, Tiffany, wore because Penny already had the leather jacket to match. Of course she did. She didn’t even want to know how Jagged acquired the Tinman suit. Not her barrel of monkeys.

While many thought Jagged was the eccentric one of the pair, due to his loud personality and being an actual rockstar, the more Marinette worked for the two of them over the years, the more she learned how absolutely wrong they all were. It turned out it was Penny’s idea for Jagged to dye his hair purple, and she was the one to ask him out on Halloween all those faithful years ago. Her calm and collected demeanor was an impressive cover for the absolute weirdo she actually was. And Jagged had planned a proposal that was undoubtedly perfect for her. Regardless of how abso-fucking-lutely bizarre it was.

To each their own and let’s move on.

The set-up for the proposal started with Jagged, dressed as the Tinman, playing the part of Chucky, who begins the body-switching chant from the movie. Everything from that point on was resting on Penny’s love for the movie. Without hesitating, Penny, dressed as Tiffany, and playing her part, knew the lines by heart and immediately began reenacting the scene with Jagged. Her lines involved telling ‘Chucky’ to kiss her while she reaches for a knife that’s supposed to be in his pocket. Instead, as Jagged was still dressed as the Tinman, Penny pulled out a slip of paper. On said paper, the words ‘All the Tinman wanted was a heart’ were written in Jagged’s almost illegible chicken scratch. When Penny was distracted with the piece of paper, Jagged had gotten down on one knee and pulled out the engagement ring. The actual words of his proposal were never actually said because, upon seeing the ring, Penny flung herself into the man, clipping her chin into his metal-plated shoulder, but she wasn’t complaining.  

So that was how the proposal went.

Wedding planning started almost immediately since the newly engaged had already picked a theme. And this is where Marinette began to regret every life choice she has made since she was thirteen; starting with opening the mysterious box she found on her desk and ending with agreeing to being the main designer for the Rockin’ Wedding of the Century. One thing that wasn’t well-known but not a secret about Jagged was that he was a superhero fan. He grew up enjoying the fictional ones in his childhood comic books and he adored the real ones he witnessed in his adult life. His song that he dedicated to the teenage Ladybug was only one part of his… appreciation. His hero-worship went so far as to beieve that a hero-themed wedding was appropriate. Or he didn’t, but also didn’t care about adhering to societal propriety and went with that theme anyways. So the Rockin’ Wedding of the Century was now the Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century. And twenty-three year old Marinette was incharge of the entire wedding party’s outfits.

Perfect.

As a small mercy from some god, both the bride and groom to-be had a rather short list of people in their parties. Marinette was also able to design appropriate hero-themed outfits for all of them and scheduled them for fittings in the coming weeks. That, surprisingly, was the easy part as there were plenty of heroes to draw inspiration from. However, that wasn’t the cause of her current crisis right now.

No. Marinette was up to her neck in unnecessary designs and ideas because she’s been avoiding one particular contingency in her acceptance of the wedding invitation.

She needed a date.

She needed a date because she had promised Penny that she wasn’t overworking herself and to prove it, she would bring a date to the wedding. Rather than call any of the people who expressed interest in her at some point in time, she designated herself to wallow in her situation and distract herself with designs. In the midst of her one person pity party, her phone rang under the sea of ripped out pages. She scoured for the device and hastily answered before she could accidently send the caller to voicemail.

“Hello?” She didn’t check the caller ID and was delighted at the sound of her best friend answering her.

“Marinette! How’s it going over there?” Alya’s voice was mixed in with the busy street life of Metropolis. She had moved there immediately after high school, snatching an internship with the Daily Planet and attending the local community college. She and Marinette don’t call often due to time differences, but when they do it’s like they’ve never parted. She always looked forward to her calls.

“It’s going great, Als,” if she ignored her current dilemma, then yeah, everything was perfect. “But you wouldn’t happen to have an available bachelor willing to be my date to the ‘Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century’ in your back pocket, would you?”  

Alya’s answering laugh was both comforting and teasing and Marinette felt herself missing her even more. What she said next, however, took Marinette by surprise.

“Actually I do.”

“Pardon?”

“Well,” she took a pause to build suspense. “I know a guy who knows a guy. But it’s nothing shady, I swear.”

“That’s not comforting.” Oh god. What has she unintentionally signed herself up for?

“You know my coworker, Jon? The guy who does the photography for all my field work?” Alya had met Jon as soon as she had started her internship. Both of his parents were top journalists at the Daily Planet so he volunteered to act as tour guide for all the new interns. He and Alya, from the exasperated stories Marinette has heard from Nino, got along like a house on fire. If he was involved, Marinette was starting to doubt even further that this was going to end well for her.

“Yes, I know Jon. How is he by the way?”

“He’s fine, but I remember him telling me how he tried to set up his best friend on several dates over the years and how they all ended poorly. He’s as approachable as a brick wall; not just a prick but the whole damn cactus. Or so Jon says.” How does that sound like someone Marinette wanted to bring along with her to the wedding? “But he’s totally your type so I could ask Jon to wrap him up in bubblewrap and send him your way whenever you want.”

“How,” and Marinette said this with a lot of feeling, “is he my type exactly?”

“Green eyes with daddy issues.”

“ALYA!” Marinette was absolutely floored at her bluntness. She wasn’t even sorry about shouting into the receiver.

“Am I wrong? You have a type and he fits that type. Jon mentioned how this guy and his dad hit several roadblocks when they first met. And I’ve seen pictures of him so ‘green eyes’ checks too.”

“That is not my type of guy.” She can’t believe this was how this conversation was going.

“Adrien.”

“I didn’t even know who his father was at the time, Alya.”

“Felix.”

“His dad is dead! That doesn’t count as ‘daddy issues.’” She can feel her cheeks flaming as the call went on. Any hotter and she was going to set her sketchbooks on fire. “Besides, I dated Luka so he doesn’t fit the criteria.”

“He’s an outlier and that’s only because his eyes are blue.” Okay, fine she had a type. “And besides, you don’t even have to date the guy. You only need him to accompany you to the wedding and you both go your separate ways after. No harm, no foul.”

Right. That was true. No strings attached. She could do that.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but,” she held her breath and let it out loudly, ignoring Alya’s chuckle at her dramatics.” Give Jon my number to give this guy. And send his number to me.”

“Wahoo! Look at you, girl,” Alya was hooting and hollering over the speaker and Marinette found herself going along with the theatrics. “Okay, I will. But I gotta go, my cab is here. Bye!”

“Bye! Stay safe. Oh before you go, what’s Jon’s friend’s name anyways?”

“Uh, Damian, I think.” The call ended before Marinette could respond, but it was okay she mused. Tossing her phone onto her couch, she flopped down onto her floor and stared at her ceiling contemplatively.

What could go wrong?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Alya had described this Damian guy as ‘not just a prick but the whole damn cactus,’ she was right. Marinette had been texting back and forth with Damian for a month, and the guy was making this idea seem less and less worth it by the day. Whenever Marinette tried to learn more about the guy, he would ghost her for days on end before replying with a half-assed response at best. She knew nothing about him other than that his first name was Damian and that he was from Gotham. She had no idea how the ball of life that was Jon was even friends with someone like Damian. She asked as much to Alya in their most recent call.

“How did they even meet?” She was pacing the floor plan of her apartment, ready to tear her hair out. “Did Damian bully him in school or something?”

“Apparently their dads knew each other and introduced them,” Alya sounded half awake, stifling a yawn; probably because Marinette had called her at 1 am, Metropolis’s time. “Their brothers being friends also forced them to get along.”

“And that’s another thing!” Marinette had paused in her pacing and was now staring intently at a potted plant in the corner of her living room. Any more rage in her glare and the plant would have wilted and died. “He doesn’t tell me anything about him. I don’t need to know all his personal information, but if he’s going to be flying out to Paris on my behalf, I think I at least deserve to know his last name.”

“Hey, M,” another yawn echoed through the speaker, “I love you, truly, but maybe this could wait for holier day time hours?”

“I guess,” a vindictive part of Marinette felt like this was payback for all those inopportune calls when Marinette was busy with clients. “Sorry for interrupting your sleep.”

“It’s no big deal. But have you tried talking to him about it? If he’s ghosting your texts, try calling him. If he ignores you then too then maybe you should try finding another person to be your plus one.”

“The wedding is in two weeks, Alya!” Marinette partially regrets waiting so long to vent her frustration about the situation but she had tried to tough it out. “I would have much preferred if you were my plus one. You sure there’s no way to convince your parents to skip out on the family trip?”

“Sorry, M. Once the news about the proposal hit the internet, I tried everything. I even tried to use work, saying that I could cover the ceremony for the newspaper. My folks won’t budge though. My dad’s aunt is important to him and he wants us all at the funeral.”

“Right, right, I forgot about that.” Now she felt like an ass. “Send you dad my condolences when you see him again.”

“Will do. Good morning, Marinette. And don’t worry too much about the guy. Everything will turn up great. I can feel it.”

“Thanks, Alya. Good night, get some sleep.”

The line went dead and Marinette let out a rather weary exhale. She had no idea how this was going to work. She pulled up her contacts and searched for what she had Damian saved as.

‘Douche’ flashed on her screen and she hit the call button without remorse. She didn’t care that it was also currently 1 am in Gotham. He didn’t deserve that much consideration from her.

“What?” His voice was gravely and deep. And also really pissed if his clipped tone was anything to go by.

“Damian? Hi, this is Marinette, the girl you’re accompanying to the wedding in two weeks?” Her voice was pitched as if she was dealing with an irritating customer. Fake and polite.

“I know who you are. Why are you calling me at this unreasonable hour?” Fair, but Marinette was still aggravated at him so she wouldn’t concede.

“I’m calling because we need to talk.” She heard him scoff over the line and she felt her blood boil even hotter. She took several calming breaths to reign her temper in. “Don’t hang up.”

“Look,” She didn’t give him a chance to refuse and kept talking, getting everything off her chest. “This wedding is important to me and I promised the bride I would bring a date. After that you can delete my number and we never have to speak to each other ever. You don’t have to like me, you just need to pretend you do.”

“Whatever,” he sounded less annoyed from when he first answered the phone. “I will act as cordial as the situation requires, and nothing more. I also have my attire secured for the wedding and accommodations in Paris already prepared. I will see you at the wedding.”

“Than—” The sound of the call ending interrupted her and her frustration was back tenfold. With a cry in anguish she flung her phone onto her couch and stomped into her kitchen to channel her rage into baking.

Three loaves of bread and a dozen eclairs later, Marinette felt calm enough to finish the final touches on her outfit for the wedding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the day of the Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century. The Rolling-Stone’s, as they were asking to be called, had kept the ceremony small. Relatively. Only two hundred invited guests, few of which were asked to bring a plus one. Marinette was over the moon at the array of outfits people were sporting. Some chose full-on cosplay while others, like herself, went for more subtle nods to the heroes. In honour of a previous Ladybug, Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, Marinette based her outfit off of Wonder Woman’s uniform, Hippolyta’s daughter. A navy blue sequined halter top bodice that flows into a blood red A-line skirt. She paired it with a thick silver belt, silver gladiator heels rather than boots and broad silver arm cuffs. It was simple but effective. Besides, all attention should be on the bride and groom today.

A tap on her shoulder caught her attention and she turned only to come face first with red with black spots. Ladybug. Someone chose her as inspiration. How flattering. Looking up to see who was wearing the Ladybug-themed suit jacket, she stared at a pair of deep forest green eyes and a sneer to ruin that ridiculously handsome face. She recognized him from the photo Alya had sent some time ago. Damian.

“Hi, Damian,” at least one of them had to be civil and Marinette knew it was going to be her. But the idea that of all the heroes for him to choose from he chose her sent her into poorly stifled fits of giggling. Images of him going ‘Lucky Charm’ and ‘Miraculous Ladybug’ were almost too much to bear.

“I don’t know what’s so amusing about my choice of attire,” his face was starting to flush in similar shades to his jacket and that made Marinette laugh harder. “Ladybug is a well respected heroine and I thought it appropriate to pay homage while in her home city.”

“No. No no. There is nothing wrong with it. I like your costume, you look very cute.”

“Are you making fun of me?” His irritation was rather cathartic for the still giggling woman.

“No, I just didn’t think you would have put that much thought into your outfit for today. You always gave me the impression that you were ready to back out at any time.”

“I made a commitment and I had all intentions to see it through the end.”

“Could have fooled me.” And her snark was back. Now was not the time to pick a fight with the guy, he did fly all the way to Paris on her behalf after all.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” and Marinette wanted to know how he managed to sound so condescending with that statement. “How did you even get an invitation to this wedding anyways? You’re not a celebrity and you don’t look like family either.”

“Actually,” she said it with more force than what was probably necessary but his slightly accusatory tone was just so irritating. “I am the lead designer for the wedding party,” her chest was swimming with confidence at the chance to talk about her job. “I’ve worked with the bride and groom for years; M. D. Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette will deny to her grave the rush of satisfaction at the absolute gobsmacked look on Damian’s face. A real fish out of water. Mouth open wide ready to catch flies. She wished she could capture this moment forever.

The moment was over too soon because Damian was regaining his composure and slipping into his default stoic expression. He cleared his throat and fixed a look at Marinette. It was rather intense.

“I believe I owe you an apology then.” He looked put-out at admitting something so menial. “I believed you were nothing more than a socialite chain climber.”

“A what?”

“When Jon reached out to me saying that a friend of one of his coworkers needed a date for an event, and when that event turned out to be the wedding of someone of such popularity, I figured you were only trying to increase your own social status by showing up with me on your arm.”

“And you said ‘yes’ anyways?” Marinette was confused but pieces of the mystery that is Damian were starting to fit in place. But something else stuck out as odd to her. “Also, how would you being my date increase my social status anyhow?”

He scoffs before answering. Bitch.

“What? It wouldn’t be the first time one of Jon’s set-ups ended that way. Besides, we’ve had an agreement that I can’t turn down an offer until meeting the person face to face.” Weird deal but some friendships are just like, Marinette supposes. “And being seen with me is enough to make anyone more popular.”

“...And you are?”

“Damian… Wayne…” He spoke as if he was talking to a small child. As if it should be obvious who he was like he was some celeb— Oh shit.

A name had flashed into her mind. On the finalised guest list, Marinette had only seen it once in passing, there was a name that belonged to someone Jagged was rather excited to see. He said the friend was an old college buddy. She remembered that much. She had completely forgotten that ‘a billionaire playboy’ was also attached to the name. Damian was the son of Bruce Wayne. Suddenly everything in the past few months made perfect sense. The cold shoulder, the ghosting, and his prickly disposition. He was overly guarded because he had justified reasons to be. Now she felt like an ass.

“Oh.” Real intelligent, Marinette.

“Oh? What, you didn’t know?” He sounded incredulous at the notion and he had every right to be. Marinette could only shake her head. Words were failing her now, her brain trying to rewrite the memories of every interaction the two ever had.

She was saved from further mortification by a call for everyone to find their seats. The wedding was about to begin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ceremony was beautiful. Penny’s dress was a silver grey, tied back with a golden belt. Instead of a long train, Marinette had attached a black cape that shimmered in the right lighting. Penny wore a tiara with two peaks to imitate the ‘bat-ears.’ A Batman-themed wedding dress was not something she ever saw herself making, but she was proud at how beautiful and confident Penny looked in it. Jagged was adorn in a royal blue suit with bold red lapels. He also had a matching red cape. His hair was styled in the familiar sleek way Superman wears it. The two made quite the pair.  

The reception was a lively affair. Jagged had dedicated several songs to his new wife and they dazzled the crowd on the dance floor. Marinette didn’t pay much attention to the speeches beyond a quick glance at Damian when his own father stepped up to the podium. He had buried his head in his hands, looking like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. A courtesy pat on the back was all Marinette gave to him.

The two hadn’t really spoken much since the revelation that they had completely misjudged each other. The awkward tension was almost palpable. As Marinette was gathering the courage to speak to him, to try and officially clear the air, she was being dragged by one of the bridesmaids onto the dancefloor. It was time for the bride to throw the bouquet. All the unmarried women were being corralled into a tight cluster and Marinette got swept up in the tide.

Marinette wasn’t focusing on the actual game, trying her hardest not to get trampled, when she saw something move in her periphery. Years of being Ladybug had left her with finely honed instincts so she could not be blamed when she immediately jumped and caught the incoming object. The bouquet. She had caught the bouquet. Oh that was just her luck. Deafening squeals of delight brought her out of her own head and she was suddenly being embraced in Penny’s arms. She returned the hug, sharing in her delight, before breaking away to sit down.

“Nice catch.” His voice had surprised her, she hadn’t expected him to speak to her for the rest of the night.

“Uh, thank you. Just lucky, I guess.” Damian didn’t get the chance to respond because he was being dragged by his own father to join all the bachelors in catching the garter. Marinette was equally uninterested in this spectacle and had let her mind wander to other things.

A loud uproar caught her attention again and her eyes zeroed in on Damian holding the tossed garter. He made his way back over to her, dropping himself into his seat gracelessly. The two sat in silence, contemplating the implications of them both catching the garter and bouquet. The games were done purely for tradition’s sake, with total disregard of what it was supposed to symbolise. Still. One’s mind couldn’t help but wander. Minutes ticked passed and Marinette was beginning to wonder if someone was going to talk about the elephant in the room.

“So,” Damian’s voice was slightly strained, like he wasn’t used to being this flustered. It was kind of endearing. Wait what?

“So.”

“While marriage seems far out of reach for right now,” Oh god. He was going to talk about it. “How does dinner sound, next Friday?”

“Wait,” he wanted to spend more time with her? After their disastrous first impressions? “Really?”

“Really. I believe we started off on the wrong foot,” he let out a soft chuckle, almost self-deprecating. “Which isn’t really new for me, but it’s not everyday I meet someone who doesn’t recognise me at first glance. I think you’re someone who I would like to get to know better. If that is something you are also interested in.”

“Yeah,” Marinette knows all about wanting to get acquainted with someone who she’s had a bad first impression of. Just look at her past relationships. Wow, she really does have a type. Damning thoughts for later. “Friday works for me. Seven pm?”

“Perfect. I’ll text you the details then.”

“Wonderful, I can’t wait.”

The rest of the evening was spent in companionable silence with small bouts of conversation in between. They shared a couple dances on the floor and parted ways at the end of the night with budding anticipation for Friday.

As Marinette was preparing for bed that night in the comfort of her apartment, she sent a text to Alya that her friend would see later in the day.

You were right, I do have a type :(

[liquid-luck-00]

The Adventures of Miss Mischief 1

Chapter 1

@maribatmarch-2k21 Day 23: Enemies to lovers

Ao3 *** Here *** Part 2

Obviously this turned out way to long, and it kindof went in its own direction so here is part one of i have no idea how many.

~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette Todd was never one to back down from anything. When her parents died leaving both her and her big brother orphans she didn’t cry. In fact, she became tough and nails. She could use her size and innocent features and be able to pickpocket and manipulate situations on her favor. But that was all turned in its head the night her big brother didn’t cone back. She knew it was dangerous and beyond reckless to go out and look for him, but she did. She went out and looked, for him anyways.

As she was running across the rooftops when she was hit and grabbed. She looked around quickly before her eyes landed on Joker.

“Shit!” Was a breathed trough her teeth.

The maniac clown walked towards her laughing.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” He laughed as he spoke. “What’s your name girly?” The henchman holding her tightened his hold on her neck effectively choking her when she didn’t answer. Mari knew she had to do something, she let fear wash over her features tapping the arm of the thug. “Let her go.”

She fell limply to the ground gasping for breath. “Not on your life.” She knocked the legs out from under the bench man and ran. She jumped off of the roof, the moment she landed she heard the crack and knew she broke her leg, but she didn’t stop. She wasn’t about to stop so she ran, turned corners, jumped over what she could, but did not stop.she would have continued to run had someone not pulled her out of oncoming traffic and in turn her flight state.

“Hey are you okay? Can you hear me? Can you understand what I’m saying?” She finally nodded at the last question. “My name is Jim Gordon what’s your’s.” She stayed quiet. “Can you speak?” She nodded. “Do you have a name?” She stayed quiet. “Do you have someone to call?” Quiet. “Are you a street kid?” Quiet again. He pulled out a phone and spoke. “Commissioner Gordon here, I have a street kid needing medical attention, broken leg.” He hung up after giving their location. “We are going to help you okay.”

Marinette stayed quiet. When officers came, she kept quiet about herself. She only told them about her injuries but stayed quiet on the rest. If Jay was still out there, I don’t want him caught by child services.

She would have gone into child services had a couple not asked what was going to happen to her. She had noticed the couple often in the hospital but never reached out.

They ended up adopting her, unfortunately they were from Paris meaning she would have to leave the place she called home. On the flight over she would have cried leaving Gotham, but that only would have brought up questions about her past, so she fell asleep.

- - -

Five years she had been living in Paris, the city of lights, and she still missed Gotham. It’s shadows and perpetual darkness was her home. It was surprising when her class was interrupted by a villain but growing up in Gotham prepared her for that. What it didn’t prepare her for was the magical mini god named Plagg who was supposed to give her powers.

“So, can you explain this to me more.”

“Sure kid. Your powers are cataclysm, you destroy whatever you touch, but you have five minutes afterwards before you transform back. Your weapons are one ore two batons, that are extendable, but weapons depend on how comparable you are me.”

“Okay so what about that partner you mentioned?”

“They will most likely have the ladybug miraculous.”

“What does that miraculous do, as in powers wise?”

“They have lucky charm and cure, but…”

“But what Plagg?” She questioned needing to know what she was going into.

“Since this seems to be the butterfly, they also need to cleanse the butterfly.”

“Okay I think I’ve got all I need to know for now, you?”

“Hungry.”

“What do you like?”

“Cheese!”

“How do cheese danishes sound?”

“Acceptable.”

She let Plagg eat comfortably before transforming and heading out. Her partner was unbearable the moment she met him, then again that wasn’t too hard to accomplish seeing as he captured the two of them in his yo-yo string. Then during the battle, he used his lucky charm but didn’t know what to do with it. In the end she ended up taking it and defeating the akuma.

“We make a pretty good team together don’t you think?” He leaned towards her.

“Catch the butterfly.”

“What?”

“Catch the butterfly, Mister Bug!”

“Okay,” he sounded defeated and he did as he was told. Releasing a now white butterfly.

“Now cast your cure.”

“My what?”

“Did your kwamii not explain anything to you?” A sheepish smile spread across his features. “You have to be kidding me. Cast your cure by tossing your Lucky Charm but do it quick you don’t have much time left before you transform back, I’ll talk with the victim.”

“Who are you two? Are you new heroes? What are your names?” The new girl who sat next her earlier appeared spewing questions. As a swarm of ladybugs covered the scene.

“I’m Mister Bug, see you around partner.” He winked at her as he swung away.

“I’m Miss Mischief. Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to check up on the victim.” She moved past the reporter and towards Ivan, she gave him a small pep talk and with his confidence up she left.

It took her almost a month to pluck up the courage to approach Nightrunner to train her.

“Excuse moi, Monsieur Nightrunner.” She had approached one night while they were both patrolling.

“You are one of the new heroes, Mischief, right?”

“Oui. Um I was wondering, wold you be willing to train me?”

“Merde how did you become a hero then?”

“Magic jewelry appeared in my room.”

“Do you know how it appeared?”

“Apparently there is a guardian, but I don’t know who they are.”

“Do you know who your partner is?” She shook her head in response. “Merde! Okay why don’t you run patrol with me, and we’ll figure something out from there.” She nodded and the two left to finish the patrol.

- - -

To say she was surprised that she still remembered some of the things and moves she learned from living off the streets of Gotham was a huge help.

But that Bug still annoyed her to no end, they had talked the night after the first akuma, and apparently the reason why he didn’t know anything was because he was so exited to be a hero that he didn’t let his kwamii explain anything. She gave him an earful after that. Unfortunately, the red annoyance got it in his head that the two of them were soulmates.

It came to a head when during the akuma Mr. Pigeon. Bug simply summoned a lucky charm handed it to her and walked out. Sure, she defeated the akuma without using her power, and sure the bug caught the akuma and purified it, but she was so done with this. She walked out holding the luIcky charm guiding Mr. Ramier out when he approached.

“Nice work Kitty Cat.” As usual reporters surrounded them, he held out his fist for a fist bump.

She simply crossed her arms, “Thanks for the help, Bug.” Sarcasm dripped from her words like venom.

“What’s with the cold shoulder all of a sudden?” He responded.

“You left me alone to fight the Akuma on my own. Do you really expect me to sing your praises when you sat out here and did nothing?”

“But…” he thought for a moment before arriving at this sentence. “We are soulmates though don’t you trust me?”

“Yes, I trust you bug, you are my partner, but that does not answer my question. The part that we are soulmates is irrelevant and incorrect. Just because our miraculous are two halves of a whole does not mean that I have to have romantic feelings towards you. I’ll see you later for patrol” she vaulted away leaving him to stew.

Luckily, they split for patrol and she shadowed Nightrunner, and after they trained outside of the city. Which helped calm her down a bit.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Permanent Taglist: @itsmeevie01 @adrestar @miraculouspenta @vixen-uchiha @animegirlweeb @jumpingjoy82 @thedragonbug @astoriaandroses @icerosecrystal @t1dwarrior-of-earth @moon5606 @zalladane

[writer-panda]

Hit on the groom and what became of it - chapter 1/I will keep missing you (if you don’t stop running)

Disclaimer: I don’t own DC or Miraculous. I’m just playing with some crazy concept. 

Chapter 1 (here)  -|-  Next

-------------

Ladybug landed on top of the Eiffel tower with practiced grace. An agitated worry roiling in her chest about the message Chat Noir left her. The urgency was one thing, but he sounded… pained. Like the weight of the world dragged him down type pain. 

Marinette knew Chat’s home life wasn’t perfect. Skilled at hiding it, maybe, but details leaked through the cracks. An offhand comment here, a muttered accusation there, a sour face yet again here. He lived in pain and tried so hard to work through it. 

She tried to help him whenever she could, both as Ladybug and Marinette. She may not return his feelings, but she always listened. For months during their third year as heroes, she left food on the rooftop when Chat’s suit revealed too many ribs. She wasn’t sure the reason and didn’t dare to ask, lest she learned too much, but she did try to help. There were times she thought she imagined the pained looks, and thin frame, and thinly veiled comments; maybe overexaggerating the situation in her mind, as she often did. After all, he always acted so cheerfully.

Then, Lila happened. 

The first strike landed swift, almost deadly, but she survived. It was what followed that made her reconsider. A prolonged fight, where Marinette chose to retain a cheerful mask to hide the pain. Along the line, she considered confiding in her parents. But what could they do?  Maybe take her from school, but that would mean Lila already won; the Liar would rule unopposed.

Which left Adrien, her last bastion of friendship. 

She still harbored a bit of a crush on him, but it was justified! Like a knight in shining armor, he stood, always ready to defend her. He always ensured her inclusion in class activities and saved her from several catastrophes. 

She still stumbled over her words with him, but when it’s minor stuttering or not talking to anyone, she forced herself to adapt. It was nowhere near as bad as it used to be. 

With the ability to spend more time with Adrien without acting like a spaz, Kagami also appeared more often, and proved to be a good friend. Marinette found a home with the two awkward rich kids ridiculously clueless and unaware of how the real world functioned. In the end, she even grew to accept Adrien might not be destined to be hers but chose to support him nonetheless. 

“My lady?” She was broken out of her musing by a familiar voice.

“Hello, Kitty-cat. I got your message… what’s wrong?” She turned to see Cat Noir slumped over the railing, with his ears tweaking nervously. She didn’t even know he could do it. 

“I… I’m sorry my Lady, but I can’t… I can’t continue to be your partner,” he declared.

“What?!” she squeaked. “What happened? What’s the matter?” 

“I’m… I’m getting married,” he announced, his ears drooping and tail tucked between his legs.  

Oh, that’s… not what she expected to hear. “Married? Congrat…” she drifted off, noticing his sour face. “Chat? What are you not telling me?”

“It’s… I… My…” He struggled to figure out how to say it, but ultimately remained silent for a moment. “There is nothing to be happy about. It’s a… business marriage,” he spat, his eyes narrowing.  

“But… those are illegal!” Ladybug protested.

“Not when you make it look like a love match. Especially if you insinuate at a scandal.” He sneered, jumping off the railing and pacing along the empty rooftop. “My father holds all the cards and I… I’m in no position to oppose him.”

“I’m sure we can…”

He sighed, walking over to her. “Please… M’lady. Don’t try to give me hope. I accepted what I must do.” With that, he reached for the ring, but she stopped him.

“Chat. We can try… You’re my friend. You can’t… We will figure it out. Together.” In all they’d endured, suffered, and triumphed - Marinette had never seen him this despondent… this broken. 

He sighed, his eyes flat and dull. “There is nothing to figure out,” he said, forcing the ring off his finger. 

The transformation fell, leaving Adrien Agreste materialized in place of her long-time partner. Plagg’s sharp cry cut off, as he’s sucked into the ring the second he popped out of it. She stood there, too stunned to notice the blond boy pushed the ring into her palm and closed it. 

Marinette wasn’t sure what thoughts decided to rampantly rage through her head, but the train of thoughts probably broke the collective speed limit everywhere in the world at the same time. 

“M’lady?” Adrien’s soft voice brought her to earth when she was one step from panic.

“A-Adrien?” She choked on the word.

“You heard about me?” He looked dumbfounded. Ladybug, too shocked to say a word, gestured over to the building line. Even from so high and far away, his most recent billboard advertisement stood visible. “Ah… right.”

“Who… who’s the lucky girl?” Inside her mind, she wondered if Kagami right now faced a  similar problem. It was the most logical…

“Lila Rossi,” Adrien admitted, his shoulders hunching. 

Marinette.exe stopped working. 

A moment passed.

Another.

“Um… M’Lady?” The boy tried to prod his ex-partner to respond by waving his hand in front of her face.

“That… that lying…” Ladybug saw red. This could not be happening.

Adrien nodded, the despondent look on his face growing worse every second.“My father deemed her a suitable heiress to the Gabriel brand… I tried to warn him she was a liar, but he… I think he actually admires her skill…” Tears built in his eyes, and Adrien covertly tried to wipe them away. 

“Maybe… maybe you could… I don’t know!” she screamed in frustration. Marinette had several ideas about what Adrien could do, but none of them would help. 

Running away would be a problem. Leaking the story to the press would lead to his home life growing even worse. After dealing with Gabriel Agreste’s parenting, she held no illusion Adrien could win a court battle. The rich too often got away with whatever they desired. She could try to sicc Uncle Jagged on the case… or maybe Clara Nightingale… Nadia Chamack would probably love the news-breaking story, but it would all put Adrien in danger. Who knows what would happen before they could obtain results or protection against Gabriel’s extensive reach. 

Adrien sighed as if knowing exactly where her thoughts took her. Chat was no dummy, he probably scoured over his options more times than he could count. His resignation, the last resort in a long line of failed plans.  “I appreciate you trying, but I already told you I accepted it. Just… take me down, please. I… I didn’t really plan the location well…” He let out a weak chuckle. 

“Fine… I’m sorry kitty...” She grabbed hold of him and swung to the ground. Despondently she watched her best friend, her partner, walk away into the night; resigned to a life of suffering and isolation. 

There must be something she could do, she thought. She closed a gloved fist around the ring. She was Ladybug, and if she put her mind to it, there was nothing she couldn't do.  

-----------

A week later the press learned about the upcoming wedding. Adrien and Lila both left school for home-school. The press and the general public ate up the news story about star-crossed lovers that met in school and became inseparable. It didn’t help that the class kept commenting about how good they were for each other. 

Marinette resisted an urge to gag whenever she caught the sound of the vicious lies and propaganda.  She was asked for comment only once but chose to refuse. It didn’t earn her any popularity in class. Luckily, she convinced Nadia to stop a nasty side-story about her jealousy from being published. 

No closer to a plan, she despondently continued to push through her life without her friend. She, unsurprisingly, hadn’t received a single text or call. Marinette didn’t blame Adrien; his position couldn’t be easy. A month after Adrien departed from her class, Marinette convinced her parents to also home-school her. Without a single friend, the school became a burden. Of course, her reasoning to her parents leaned into her focus on her fashion business. Which wasn’t untrue. It was starting to pick up. 

The only upside to this whole debacle was near-lack of akuma attacks. It seemed Hawkmoth found a hobby. Maybe he wrote poems? 

Nah. Not his style...

Two months after the announcement  Marinette woke to surprise guests: Adrien, his father, and Lila knocked on the bakery’s doors. The bride-to-be in an especially sour mood, as much as she tried to hide it. Gabriel appeared to be devoid of any emotions, as usual.

She seated them on the couch and asked if they would like a drink. She didn’t bother to offer food, not wanting to waste good cake on the likes of Lila and Gabriel. Although, Adrien’s thin cheeks and haunted eyes made her regret the decision. 

All of them declined the drink.

“Madame Marinette, I assume you have heard of the Wedding?” The capitalization clearly discernible in his voice. 

“Yes… Yes sir!” she corrected herself. Trying desperately to mask her disgust behind a layer of nervousness. She couldn’t risk a glance at Adrien, even if this was the first time she’d seen him since that night on the roof. Making it through the meeting would be hard enough without watching him suffer.  

“While initially, I planned to prepare the dress and suit myself, my son convinced me to give a chance to someone else to shine.” Clearly, whatever it was Adrien said, it didn’t include a polite request. “I have seen the dress you made for Rock Star Jagged Stone’s wedding, as well as the suit worn by Nadia Chamack.”

“They are designs I’m particularly proud of, sir.” 

Play the part. Play the part. Don’t send him to the hospital. Papa and Maman would be disappointed. Well, Maman would probably join me… 

Her homicidal train of thought ended as she forced a smile to appear on her face. Contrary to Lila’s stretched thin lips;  Marinette’s smile shines bright and could’ve been mistaken for genuine.

“Indeed… I’ve come to commission you to design and make the gown and the suit for the sweet couple.” He announced like it was the highest honor, but there was an amount of bile in his words Marinette used to think was reserved only for Nino.

“I… I’m… I’m honored, sir!” She beamed. The excitement only half-forced. Her moral compass told her even entertaining the proposal was wrong, but at the same time, her brain furiously flitted crafting possibilities. 

Gabriel nodded imperiously as if her acceptance merely added to a foregone conclusion. “Good. My assistant, Nathalie, will sort out the details. Lex Luthor agreed to pay for the pieces as his wedding gift, so do not be afraid to ask for full price.” He informed her t as if he believed she would give him a discount. 

For a moment, a singular reckless moment, Marinette entertained the temptation to voice her thoughts about Gabriel being cheap. 

She sighed, no, there would be another day for career suicide. The group rose to leave, and Marinette finally glanced at Adrien; his model-trained smile paper-thin. He caught her eyes, and if he radiated sadness two months ago, it didn’t hold a candle to the devastation swimming in his eyes. The exchange broke when Lila gripped a hand tight around his arm and dragged him to the door. 

Gabriel handed her a card, and the group departed. Marinette collapsed onto the couch, the makings of a headache building in her skull. 

This would be awful.  

------------

A week later Marinette held a separate meeting, consisting of Nathalie, Lila, Lila’s mother, and Adrien’s aunt. And her, obviously. 

She first asked what kind of dress Lila wanted.

Lila’s eyes lit up in an unholy glee; and she started talking. 

And talking. 

And talking. 

And talking. 

After the long and painstakingly thorough description, Marinette felt faint. Several reasons contributed to that, although the most prominent were the materials, the design, and the way she spoke. Obviously Lila had feelings, the kind likely to trigger an oncoming Auma attack if Hawkmoth hadn’t pranced off to who knows where, about Marinette designing her dress. 

Marinette was happy Adrien’s aunt pointed out the request’s complete madness, but Lila’s mother waved it off, quick to declare only minor adjustments to the request would be needed. 

In the end, Marinette presented several dozen designs, both hers and foreign to have a basis on which she could work. Lila, of course, chose the one that would be hardest to make.

“I’m sorry none of your designs were good, Marinette…” The liar cooed with faked sorrow. She hid a smirk the designer could clearly see. 

The notion was born because it was a picture and not a sketch. 

Marinette smirked, and rose from the couch, ignoring Lila’s irritated scowl at her non-reaction.  

She liked it even less when the girl brought in the ready-made dress. 

“I made it as the first design for Penny Rolling’s wedding, based on Uncle Jagged’s suggestions. I should’ve known Penny didn’t approve of his idea, but…” she waved it off.

Lila, now actively glaring at her, sat back on the couch. All of which was mistaken for amazement by the adults.

Marinette ignored the girl’s dramatics, it was the only way she’d survive this meeting intact. “Of course, there still needs to be several adjustments and personalizations. I will also need to order the amber you requested. And the platinum thread. And the white gold. And probably an industrial-grade 3-D printer… Is that covered by the expenses?” She looked at Nathalie, who nodded. “Great! I will need just a moment.” 

The women watched as Marinette practically leaped at her notebook and added in adjustments to the sketch. Fifteen minutes later, when she presented a new design, impressing them all (sans Lila, obviously) with the flowing lines and intricate details. They praised her talent (even Natalie), and Marinette played the bashful young designer role to a tee. The liar kept glaring though. She couldn’t back away easily, since she already made a scene about wanting that specific dress. Marinette informed them beforehand she would need to know about her specific wishes before she made any adjustments. 

The final design looked pretty much exactly what Lila wanted though, but she didn’t want to give her nemesis the satisfaction. Her entourage did enough of this. 

Under the cover of being too emotional, they ended the meeting. Nathalie remained to finish the deal and sign the contract. 

After all of them left, Marinette collapsed onto her chair. An hour later a notification from her bank came. She received the first half of the payment. When finished, the dress would officially be the most expensive wedding dress to date. Blessed be Lex Luthor and his deep pocket. She chuckled, remembering how much the billionaire got kidnapped because of his money.

Then, an idea shined in her head.

Oh. 

Oh...

She took off her earrings and dismissed Tikki, promising she needed a quick chat with Plagg about a new potential holder. When Marinette put on the ring, the Kwami of destruction popped back into existence. 

“So… figured out how to help my chosen?” he asked. 

What Tikki didn’t know was when Marinette said she intended to discuss potential holders for Plagg, they really worked on a way to save Adrien. It was their secret since Tikki would most likely disapprove. They didn’t want to risk her disappointment in them. Not until they crafted a fleshed out full-proof plan. 

She nodded. “I have an idea. Let’s hire someone to kidnap him!” 

Plagg rolled his eyes. “Did they hit you on the head, pigtails?”

“No. But look, the problem is whatever we come up with, Adrien ends up blamed or we land ourselves in jail, right?” The Kwami nodded. “So… if we make sure it’s a very public kidnapping and he disappears, we can stash him away until the heat dies down. After we dye his hair and apply fast-tan, he will look different enough no one will connect the two. I’m pretty sure I could get my hands on fake documents if I tried hard enough…” she trailed off thinking of all the minutiae to coordinate to pull this off. 

It would be hard. 

But it would be worth it. 

Plagg slowly nods. “Okay… Somehow, that both makes no sense and seems perfectly legitimate. It’s also your most chaotic plan to date, Pigtails. Let’s do it!” The Kwami cheered, happy to be soon reunited with his chosen kitten. “But what about the costs!”

Marinette already had an answer in mind for that question. “Even after I subtract the costs of materials and other supplies, the payment for the dress, together with my savings, will be more than enough. Now… let’s go wake Tikki up.”

That… ended with the Kwami of Creation vomiting a pile of handcuffs and other police gear at Marinette. 

“Um… Why?”

The little red Kwammi placed her paws on her hips. “Because you should familiarize yourself with those if you plan on going to prison for that plan. It’s no longer just a phone theft, Marinette! You’re talking about breaking more laws than I can count!” She dropped to the pillow below, bemoaning about where she went wrong. 

Marinette scooped up her wayward friend and tried to reassure her. “I just need to be careful. I’m pretty sure I can do it without detection. Maman taught me how to not be seen on the internet. Or in general. Come on. I need to order a secure laptop.”

“I will help!” Plagg offered. “I can cataclysm the internet after you do your thing.”

“What?! No! Think of the cute cat pictures!” Marinette protested. “And video games.” 

“Relax! It’ll just remove any trace of you doing anything online in the several hours or so…” He calmed her.

Tikki trailed after them, a bundle of nerves and worry. “Plagg! It’s irresponsible! You can’t possibly…”

“Pigtails and I have it all under control. What’s the worst that could happen?”

---------

Turns out, a lot. 

Before Marinette put out the hit (kidnapping, she made sure that it was plain as day), she needed to set a price. That one was harder. It wasn’t like you could Google how much you needed to charge to kidnap a celebrity. At least, not without attracting a lot of unwanted attention. 

She asked her mother, under the guise of pure curiosity. It was a normal question any teenage girl asked her mother. How much does it cost to have someone killed, how much cheaper/more expensive a kidnapping is, how to acquire fake documents, that kind of stuff. Not suspicious at all. 

So absorbed in her rant, she missed a merry glint in Sabine’s eyes. She also didn’t question how her Maman knew those prices. 

Finally, she needed to fill the form. 

Assignment: Acquisition and Delivery

Asset(s): Adrien Athanase Agreste

Value: 

Here, Marinette paused. 

Her mom gave her a lengthy lecture about pricing and all. According to her, a professional would take up to fifty thousand dollars for kidnapping and bringing the target to her. Marinette decided, since Adrien was a celebrity, she should double the price. More risks involved, more reward, right? 

But, she also wanted to ensure she hired the best of the best. Compare her work to Gabriel Agreste’s, she came to the conclusion ten times the price was reasonable to ensure only the best in the field would take the job. 

Then, there was the matter of safety and so on and so on. By the end, she settled on two million dollars, as her asking price for one Adrien Agreste. Plagg sagely nodded, agreeing with her assessment. Tikki didn’t comment, as she wasn’t speaking to the two, but also seemed more accepting after spying on Adrien and Lila’s home life. Not that she revealed that tidbit to either of them, lest they drop the plan and directly go at Gabe and the Liar. 

After a few more details and boxes in the form Marinette filled until she came to the end. Only one more detail remained: 

Sponsor:

Marinette stared at the word for a moment. After a quick race of thoughts, she typed slowly. 

Sponsor: The Seamstress

Perfect. Nothing about this could go wrong.

Of course, how could she predict just how big of a mess she would make? 

----------

[overworkedunderwhelmed]

No, the Love Square isn’t perfect.  

However, Marinette’s and Adrien’s flaws compliment each other perfectly.  Battle after battle — of all types — they bring out the very best (and yes, sometimes the worst) in each other, and end each day all the stronger for it.  The romance dynamic potential always had twists and turns on old favorites, and time (and more than a little trauma) has only served to make that potential more rich. 

Ladrien is Romeo and Juliet.  Star crossed lovers (of the right approximate age) who thankfully the identity rules only just keep them from doing something too stupid.  They both just really need to watch out for poisonous parents and advisors.

Adrinette is Pride and Prejudice, except they got that first bad interaction out of the way in a hurry and we’re just stuck in the limbo of 300K worth of that slow burn stepwise progress and miscommunication and bottled up fears that each other somehow still has a bad impression of one another in the meanwhile.  We’re all on tenterhooks, just not sure who might actually figure out how much they truly care about one another first and come running in to confirm that it really, truly is the truth.

MariChat is Beauty and the Beast.  He sees her for everything that is admirable, but it will take a while for her to grasp just how much that she truly values has also been hiding behind his mask all along.  It’s every soft fairy tale about saving the Princess in her tower, all without knowing that Princess is secretly also the masked Knight who has been fiercely protecting herself (and him) every evening.  (Also, nearly everything is roses for some reason.)

LadyNoir is a mix of decades many superhero/crime-fighting relationships, all banter and humor and team dynamics.  All inversions of the tired old tropes and a reframe to allow a more modern and refreshing twist on the old staples.  Somehow, we’re maybe 60% through the movie now and while there are impossibly even more climactic bits to come.  We’re all quite concerned that we’re running low on popcorn before we can get a kiss that will stick this time.

Impossibly, it has always been these two, right from the start who have hooked so many of our imaginations, giving us all a little much needed hope.

[galla02006]

[Brucinette] prompt/idea

Here’s the thing, I’m not a writer but I have unfortunately fallen into the rabbit hole that is Maribat, English is also not my first language, so correcting me and my grammar is welcomed and appreciated.

---

So basically She has a crush on Adrian but the difference is that after a few weeks she realizes that she sees him more like a best friend/brother

At the same time, she realizes he's gay but says nothing to him until there like 16

btw she gets Tikki at 13 a few months later the Lila incident happens and just because I'm a salty person, the class betrayal (excluding Alex, Julica, Luca, Kagami, and of course Adrian, side note Chloe too) happens but instead of wallowing in self-pity she suks it up and doesn't care, because our girl knows her worth and stuff

She becomes the Guardian at 14, she and Adrian reveal themselves to each other and are basically like:

Like a week later Marinette ends up running into Chloe being sad and stuff, they have this heart to heart chat about the class and how Sabrina left her, the Miracle Queen incident, their parents, the expectations set on them, Chloe apologizes and they end up becoming friends (#ILoveChloeRedemptionFics)

15 nothing big happens

16 it's time for that talk with Adrian this is how I imagine it would go:

Mari: Adrian we need to talk.

Adrian: yes Mari?

Mari: Adrian, how do I put this...

Adrian: Mari are you ok?

Mari: You know what I'll just say it.

*Marinette places Adrian’s hands in her own*

Adrian: ok now you're starting to scare me.

Mari: Adrian… You're gay.

…

Adrian: what?

Mari: Chris Hemsworth or Gal Gadot.

Adrian: Chris Hems-

…

A few more years later after college

So basically I imagine Both Adrian and Marinette’s parents are setting them up on dates left and right, so they come up with this plan to fake date, Mari because she wants to focus on her Fashion career and Adrian become he doesn't want to date girls, and Gabrial doesn't know he's gay and wouldn't approve of it.

So basically everyone falls for it except their friends who know the truth.

Time skip 2 years later they decide to get married because they both want kids and trust each other. (they're basically 26 at this point)

(side note: Adrian doesn't model anymore and decided he wants to be a photographer and does business on the side, he’s co CEO with Mari for MD (Miraculous Designs)

27 is a hectic year Mari and Adrian have twin girls, Emily and Valerie, Adrian finally comes out to his father (doesn't take it well and the fight), they take Hawkmoth down finding out it's actually Gabrial, move to New York because Mari need to keep the balance and stuff, plus it's where all their friends live now, they also get divorced, but still live together.

I imagine Emily with Straight blond hair and blue eyes, and Valerie with really wavy Red hair and blue eyes that match her sister’s (BTW I imagine Gina, Mari’s grandma had red hair when she was younger))

Over the years she’s visited the Guardian temple, finished her training, she’s become a fashion icon/household name.

Let’s say now she’s about 35 and decides to move to Gotham because of the imbalance in the city, Emily and Valerie come with.

for some reason, I imagine Emily being this sweet Angelic child and Valerie being this little daredevil child that will milk you for all you’re worth that only really listens to her mother, and sometimes Adrian, and her aunts and uncles, I also imagine their as chaotic at their parents and thrive on all the chaos they’d create.

at this point I imagine Adrian has a boyfriend, he was either dating him before he got divorced in secret except only his friends knew, or they started after, it’s just idk if it should be a made-up character, Luca, or another person from ML or DC

Now this is how I imagine Bruce and Marinette would meet

Mari would be invited to a Wayne foundation party/gala as MDC, she’d of course go because it’s charity.

While she’s there she drops a check in the donation box, grabs a drink, and heads to the balcony to avoid the snotty rich people.

When she’s on the balcony, she’s probably designing/Sketchy something inspired by the view in a design book she managed to fit in her bag when she’s rudely interrupted byyyyy ‘dorm role please’ you guessed it, Bruce.

I imagine she wouldn’t know who he is and would end up having this conversation with him that would end up in them exchanging first names and phone numbers.

They end up on a few dates together, a few identities and secret reveals later, and they’re married with A house/mansion, a dozen or so children, a zoo, oh and Alfred! :D

---

That really all I have for this idea, I also have somewhat of an idea of how the kids would meet and react to their parent's partner/lover.

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (7)

(I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter! Feel free to check out the mini series connected to this fic called Journal Entries. I will warn whoever reads it that I’m not sure how long I’m going to keep it up, though.)

Ch.1 / Ch.6 / Ch.8

Chapter 7: That Happy Glow

“This is gonna be so much fun, Tikki!” Marinette exclaimed as she slid on her light pink flats. “I can’t wait to get to the aquarium!”

“Don’t forget your purse!” Tikki reminded, zipping around her chosen’s head. “I want to see some of the fish too!”

Marinette laughed and reached for her coat. The weather had been reported to drop over the weekend, and she didn’t want to take any chances. “Of course! I’ll make sure to pack some cookies for you too.”

When Felix told her last Monday that Adrien came to Rosemary looking for her, She’d been understandably distraught. Dupont had been given strict instructions to keep her new school’s name a secret, yet her old classmates were still coming to talk to her. It left many questions that needed to be answered. For example, how did they find out? Did Bustier tell them? Felix had mentioned that a girl was the one to give Adrien the information, though that hardly narrowed down the suspect list. Was Adrien the only one who knew? If not, were her other classmates going to try to come for her too? She’d asked her mother about it as soon as she got home, and as expected, Sabine flew into a rage. 

“I send my daughter to a new school to get her away from her old classmates, and what do they do? They follow her there!” She’d fumed. “Unbelievable.”

Once Marinette talked her down from calling the police to file for harassment, they called the school, and Mme Bustier insisted that they’d been tight lipped about Marinette’s new school, but Marinette didn't buy it. Who else could have told Adrien? No one knew about her attending Rosemary, not unless Nathalie managed to find the information, and that was highly unlikely.

Although the situation was a mix of frustrating and worrisome, Marinette took comfort in the fact that Adrien seemed to believe she wasn't actually attending Rosemary. At the very least, he hadn’t stopped by again- as far as she knew -and hadn’t visited the bakery again either.

A small sigh passed her lips at the thought of how close she'd come to exposing herself as a Rosemary student. Thank goodness Felix had been out there to greet Adrien instead. His quick thinking had really saved her, and he even offered to give her a ride home afterwards. (For the second time) She never intended on asking Felix for help with things like this- mostly because she didn't want to bother him -but it was good to know she could depend on him when she needed to. Not only did he help her with Adrien, she also noticed him trying to keep others around her during the day after everything blew over. Allegra would order lunch with her more. Claude would join her to go to the lockers more. Allan would walk her to classes that they didn't have together. Things like that. Felix even offered to accompany her himself on a few occasions. It was a sweet gesture, and although the extra attention wasn’t necessary, it was greatly appreciated. Maybe she should make him a little thank you gift. What sort of things does he like again? Books and chess.. and silence.. how could she make a gift out of that?

Either way, Marinette couldn't thank him enough for his kindness, and now that six days of blessed silence has passed, the nervousness from the Adrien encounter was replaced with giddy enthusiasm for the aquarium. She buzzed around her bedroom to finish getting ready, putting on her scarf and earmuffs as quickly as she could. Allegra was supposed to come pick her up, but they were all going to meet up and walk into Aquarium de Paris together. She didn’t want to hold anyone up.

Marinette wrapped her purse around her shoulder, finally finishing her outfit, and bounced over to the trapdoor to go downstairs. Allegra should be arriving in about five minutes. That gave her just enough time to snag a few cookies for Tikki, a croissant for herself (and maybe Claude), and say goodbye to her parents. 

“Goodmorning, sweetheart!” Sabine greeted warmly.

“Morning, Maman!” Marinette smiled, briefly pausing to let her mother kiss her on the forehead.

“Did you have a good sleep?” Tom asked, holding out an arm to her.

Marinette let out a nervous chuckle as she gave him a side hug. “Yes and no. I was kind of too excited to sleep.”

“You and me both.”

Marinette turned to one of the small tables in the bakery to see Allegra sitting with a smile and a cup of coffee. She was bundled up too, which told Marinette that she was probably right to put on her winter clothes.

“You’re already here?” Marinette asked, panic briefly seizing her chest. She looked around for the time. “How long have you been waiting? Am I late again?”

Allegra chuckled and stood up to pull Marinette into a hug. “Not at all! I just happened to get here a few minutes early, and your parents offered me a coffee while we waited for you to come down.”

Marinette relaxed a bit and hugged Allegra back. “You could have come upstairs to get me.”

“I didn’t want to rush you.” Allegra shrugged. “Besides, your parents are fun to talk with!”

Tom and Sabine both smiled and straightened with pride, causing Marinette to giggle.

“Here,” Tom said, taking a brown, paper bag out from under the counter. “We packed some breakfast for you.” 

“And made sure to put plenty of croissants in for Claude and the others.” Sabine added with a smile.

Marinette took the bag with a sincere “thanks”. That saved her time on sneaking around for snacks.

“Oh, Claude is going to love those.” Allegra smirked, touching the bag to feel how warm it was. 

Marinette giggled and nodded in agreement. It’s been almost three weeks since she started at Rosemary, and Claude still asks for croissants every lunch period. “Are we ready to go?”

“Yep! My driver’s waiting out front for us.” Allegra replied, tilting her head in the direction of the door.

“Have fun, you guys!” Sabine cooed.

“Make sure to take plenty of pictures with the fish!” Tom added with a wave.

“We definitely will.” Allegra beamed, looping her arm with Marinette’s.

With a final wave, they stepped outside together, and Marinette sharply inhaled as the chill of the air immediately gnawed at her features. She knew it was going to be cold, but she didn’t think it would be this cold. 

I hope Felix didn’t decide to get there early today. Marinette thought to herself as they scrambled into the backseat of the car. 

“So are you excited?” She asked Allegra while buckling in. Claude had been bouncing around the school walls all week for this trip, but Allegra hadn’t said much about it. Neither had Allan. Of course, they didn’t have to be excited. Marinette was just curious as to whether they were or why they weren’t.

“Absolutely!” Allegra grinned, bringing a smile to Marinette’s lips as well. Guess people show their excitement in different ways.

“Probably not as excited as Claude, though.” The blonde continued, a humorous expression crossing her features. “How many fish did he text on the group chat again?”

Marinette squinted slightly as she thought about it. “I think.. Twenty seven? Maybe twenty eight.”

“Twenty eight sounds about right.” Allegra said with a nod. “I swear Allan was this close to blocking him.” 

Marinette laughed. “That knife meme was hilarious! I still can’t believe that Felix was the one who sent it. I was starting to think he didn’t read the group chat.”

“Yeah, he surprises us every now and then.” Allegra mused, a fond smile coming to her lips. “Like this aquarium trip. I don’t think he’s ever once agreed to go somewhere with us after the first invite.”

Marinette shrugged and settled into her seat as the driver pulled out onto the road. “Well, he did say that you were going to force him either way.”

Allegra’s smile turned devilish. “And he’s absolutely right. If he had said no to coming, I would have dragged him there myself, but that’s never stopped him before.”

Marinette tilted her head in a nod. That was certainly true.

“Maybe he just likes aquariums?”

Allegra hummed, a mischievous glint in her sky blue eyes as she said, “Or maybe he likes someone who’s going to the aquarium.”

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. Like as in like like? Like a crush? Felix didn’t seem like the type to have a crush on someone, though after hearing him talk about the lovers in his classical playlist, she supposed it was a possibility. 

“Is there someone else you guys know that might be there?”

A short laugh burst from Allegra’s lips, almost like Marinette had missed the point of something, and she shook her head. “No, nevermind. Forget I said anything. Let’s just enjoy our agreeable Felix while we have him.”

Marinette nodded, though her thoughts still lingered on the comment. Felix developing romantic feelings for someone sounded like such a foreign concept to her. Not that he was unlovable, or anything. He was just.. too logical. He didn’t dote on feelings. The only circumstance where she can clearly see him acquiring a spouse would be an arranged marriage. He’d probably be the one to plan it, too, seeing it as the most beneficial choice between both families. What type of wife would he pick, anyway? She’d probably be beautiful and quiet, right? Not to mention smart. Felix wouldn’t be able to stand someone ‘incompetent’. Maybe she’d be a bit of a perfectionist like him?

A soft hum passed her lips. It was definitely a thought.

~~~~~~

Felix grit his teeth as the biting chill of the morning seeped into his clothing. It was times like this that he wished those jokes about the incredible inaccuracy of weathermen were true. He hasn’t even been outside for ten minutes, and his fingers were already numb. If Felix had known that his coat and gloves would be this ineffective, he would have taken the second coat that his mother tried to insist he wear earlier.

A shiver ran up his spine as a particularly cold burst of wind whipped past him, and he pulled his coat tighter around his waist. What time was it? Were the girls going to be arriving soon? 

He flicked his wrist upwards to catch sight of his watch. Allegra said that they would be meeting at Aquarium de Paris at 10am. Being 9:58am., they should be arriving any minute, but that didn’t stop him from heaving a deep sigh towards the wait. Note to self: Don’t arrive early to activities that take place outside during the winter.

A nudge to the arm brought Felix’s attention to Claude. He’d also arrived early- probably out of sheer excitement. He’s been blabbering about this trip all week -but the cold didn’t appear to affect him nearly as much.

“Are you nervous?” The brunette asked, causing Felix to shoot him a flat look.

“Why on earth would I be nervous?”

“Oh, no reason..” Claude said, his tone light and teasing. “I just know that Marinette’s going to be here.”

Felix rose a brow. “And?”

Claude smiled knowingly, but Felix couldn’t imagine what the brunette thought he knew this time. 

“You two have gotten pretty close lately.”

“In what way?” There was the physical way or the mental way. Granted, both ways were incorrect, but it was an important distinction.

“Well, you talk to each other all the time.” Claude answered, as though that should be some monumental fact.

Ah. So it’s the mental way.

“That’s usually what happens when two people are in the same friend group.” Felix responded. “They talk.”

“Yeah, but what about the library?” Claude argued. Why did he feel the need to argue? “You two were practically touching noses, and no one else was there besides me.”

Felix furrowed his eyebrows. “Yesterday? When we were sharing headphones?”

Claude nodded, a Cheshire grin crossing his features. Why did he look triumphant? No one had won anything. “Yep. That’s the one I’m talking about.”

“Do you share headphones differently?”

“Well, no..” Claude half-shrugged. “But you guys are still pretty close, don’t you think?”

Felix paused. The label of being close to Marinette wasn’t a bad one, save for the fact that it was completely untrue. In light of a physical closeness, the only moments that they were close would be times when Marinette fell on top of him or yesterday, when they shared headphones in the library, and the latter scenario is being taken entirely out of context. They don’t walk around holding hands or hugging or sitting shoulder to shoulder next to each other, and in all honesty, Felix wouldn’t want to. He doesn’t enjoy constantly touching people. And as for the mental closeness, Marinette hasn’t told him anything that she hasn’t told anyone else. Felix knows a lot about her, yes, but almost everything he knows has been found out secretly, through silent observations. He would hardly call that “close”.

“No, I don’t think so,” he finally answered, “but I’m still confused as to why that would make me nervous.”

Claude pursed his lips, studying him for a moment, then sighed and crossed his arms. “Oh, nevermind. Either you’re in denial or you’ll figure it out eventually.”

A hint of frustration started to stir in Felix’s mind. Figure out what?

Before he could ask anything else, another voice cut into their conversation. 

“Oh, there you guys are!” 

It was Allan, and when Felix looked up, he noticed that Marinette and Allegra were accompanying him as well. Wonderful. He’d somewhat forgotten about the cold during Claude’s maniac ramblings, but now that his focus had shifted, the weather was hitting him full force again. He needed to escape inside before his feet were frozen to the sidewalk.

Claude perked up and waved to the three as he ran over to them. “Hey guys! What took you so long?”

Felix hobbled over to them as well, catching sight of Marinette’s sheepish smile as she said, “Sorry, Claude. We got here as fast as we could.”

Claude, of course, waved off the apology. “Nah, I’m just kidding. We weren’t waiting that long.”

The brunette scooped Marinette into a hug, coaxing out a laugh from her. She was so bundled up with coats and scarfs and gloves that Claude had to squish her between his arms to hold her, and it vaguely reminded Felix of a marshmallow. 

In weather like this, though, being a marshmallow didn’t sound half bad.

Claude blew out a contented sigh as he nuzzled his face into Marinette’s shoulder. “Man, Mari, you’re so warm! I need to start using you as my personal heater.”

Marinette chuckled and pulled back just enough to hold up a brown, paper bag. “Thanks, but I think it’s just the food Maman sent with me.” 

A gasp flew from Claude, and he immediately set her back on the ground. “Food, you say? As in, croissants food??”

“Yes, Claude.” Marinette giggled. “Croissants food. Maman packed a few extras especially for you.”

Claude literally let out a girlish squeal and made “grabby hands” for the bag. Marinette gladly obliged, letting him dig through it for his favorites.

“Your mom is the absolute best.” Claude said, his voice muffled from the chocolate croissant he bit into. “Please adopt me.”

The group shared a small laugh, but Felix rolled his eyes. Claude was always overdramatic. 

“You better not let Aunt Felicity hear you say that.” Allegra spoke up. She was also bundled to the max- though her coat was light purple -and looked about ten times warmer than Felix felt. “Remember the last time you asked Allan to adopt you?”

Claude scoffed. “That was different! This time I want to be adopted because of Mme Sabine’s cooking, not because of how many games Marinette has.”

“Oh, yeah.” Allan snorted. “That’s completely different.”

“Hey, mom will understand.” Claude insisted, placing his hands on his hips. “She knows she can’t cook anything to save her life. That’s why we have a personal chef.”

“Wait, are you two cousins?” Marinette cut in, confusion flicking across her features.

A slight frown came to Allegra’s lips. “No, why do you ask?”

“You called his mom ‘Aunt Felicity’.”

“Oh!” The blonde’s face lit up with understanding. “Yeah, we do that. Claude’s parents are Aunt Felicity and Uncle Albert, and Allan’s parents are Aunt Meridith and Uncle Theodore.”

Allan nodded in agreement. “I think it started back in middle school when Claude accidentally called M. Chanson ‘Uncle Arthur’ while taking some snacks.”

Allegra snorted. “Oh, yeah, that was definitely the start of it. Dad wouldn’t stop talking about it for days. He thought it was the best.”

Claude sighed, running a hand through his hair with a bashful smile. “That was totally embarrassing, but at least he liked it.”

“Can we all go inside?” Felix interjected. Talking about how they address the adults is nice and all, but his arms and legs have been burning from the cold for the last five minutes. Can’t they continue this conversation when they’re not standing in below-thirty-degree weather?

Claude laughed, throwing Felix a teasing smirk. “Aw, poor Fe. Are you cold?”

Felix scowled at his babying tone. “Of course I’m cold! Frost is slowly growing on our hoods as we speak!”

“Well, I’m not cold.” The brunette replied, swinging his arm around Marinette’s shoulder. “Because I’ve had some of Marinette’s delicious croissants to keep me warm.”

Felix scoffed and tugged his coat tighter around himself. Eating warm croissants certainly didn’t help him.

“They are pretty warm.” Allan said next to him. “You should try one.”

“He doesn’t have to.” Marinette, being the kind person she is, hastily jumped in. “We were planning on going inside, anyway, right?”

“Yeah, but I think Felix needs to taste one.” Allegra remarked. “It’s simply shameful of him to refuse them for this long, in my opinion.”

“I don’t like sweets.” Felix pointed out in annoyance. Just start moving towards the aquarium.

“Well..” Marinette faltered. “Maman did pack a regular croissant and a cheesy croissant..”

He held back a sigh. Though her intentions surely weren’t foul, his only ally had officially condemned him. It’s not that he cared to try one of Marinette’s croissants. After eating supper with Marinette’s parents last week, he had no doubt that anything they made was delicious. No, the problem came with the fact that he was being pushed to eat them. (The group wasn’t quite pushing yet, but he’d learned to pinpoint the signs of oncoming pressure.) If Felix says no, despite how unreasonable it might be, he expects that answers to be respected. The same way he would respect anyone else who told him no about something.

“See, there you go!” Claude smiled. “A nice, warm, non-sweet croissant to make you forget about the January weather.”

“I’d forget it just as easily if we walked inside.” Felix bit back.

“Oh, come on, Felix.” Allegra scolded. “Live a little! You don’t have to eat the whole thing, just one bite!”

“Guys, he really doesn’t have to eat it.” Marinette spoke up again. Felix silently thanked her for her efforts, but her previous comment made any resistance futile now.

“Oh, he’s eating it.” Claude stated. “He needs to know the pure bliss that is Mme Sabine’s croissants.”

“Plus, we’re not going inside until he tries it.” Allegra added.

Allan snorted. “Felix.. I think they want you to try the croissant.”

Felix’s eyes narrowed to a glare. “I’ll walk inside without you.”

“No, you won’t.” Allegra shot back. “You know why you won’t? Because you actually don’t mind trying the croissants. You’re just upset that we told you to try them.”

Felix was thankful for his pockets, because it hid the way his hands clenched into his fists. He absolutely hated when Allegra saw through his intentions. It made him feel transparent, vulnerable. Not to mention embarrassed. Was he that horrible at hiding his emotions or could he simply not match her level of observation? It was probably the former and that ticked him off the most.

“Just give me the dang croissant.” He finally bit off, jutting his hand out to Marinette. If he stared solely at her, he wouldn’t have to see Claude or Allegra’s victorious, blood-boiling grins.

Marinette flinched at the sudden movement and knitted her eyebrows, concerned. “A-Are you sure-”

“Positive.” Felix ground out, hoping she didn’t take it personally. Just give me the food so we can get this over with.

Although wary, Marinette handed over one of the croissants. The specks of yellow around the edges told him it was the cheese-flavored one.

With a deep breath to regain some composure, Felix took a bite of the breaded treat, and..

And it was incredible.

The croissant was piping hot, immediately stealing away the bitter coldness of the air as Claude had claimed. The cheese inside was stringy and practically melted in his mouth, and the softness of the bread allowed you to enjoy every bit of the doughy taste.

It took everything Felix had to keep a neutral expression. If they saw how much he enjoyed the food, they would never let him live it down. He’d be trying everything else under the sun merely because the trio was right one time.

“Well?” Allegra pressed. “How does it taste?”

“.. They are delicious.” He admitted, if only for Marinette’s sake. Downplaying Mme Sabine’s baking skills would only allow him to keep a small bit of his useless pride. He might as well be honest.

A smile slipped onto Marinette’s lips, but Claude’s triumphant laugh took away any satisfaction Felix might have gotten from it.

“I knew you would like them!” The brunette cheered. “Anyway, let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here!”

Felix scoffed, throwing a sharp glare at Claude. If it weren’t for how good this croissant was, he would have thrown it at him.

“Yeah, I think they’re open now.” Allan agreed as he checked his watch.

Curious, Felix checked his watch too. 10:10am.

“Oh! Race you guys there!” Claude abruptly announced, before breaking into a sprint. 

Allan chuckled and humored the brunette by going into a jog, and Allegra picked up the pace as well. Felix, however, elected to keep walking as he munched on the croissant. The heat radiating off of it was enough to stall the looming chill around him anyway.

“So..” Marinette began, drawing Felix’s gaze down to her. She’d apparently decided to walk with him instead of running after Claude.

For some reason, that gave Felix a sense of accomplishment.

“Did you really like the croissants?” She asked, her hands fidgeting with the paper bag.

Felix nodded, taking another bite of the croissant as ‘proof’. “Claude wasn’t joking when he said that she made them fluffier than the clouds. I’ll have to buy them for Mother sometime.”

A small smile graced her lips. “I’m glad you like them.” 

Felix offered a small smile in return. “Yes, me too.”

After Agreste’s visit earlier in the week, Marinette had been rather stressed. He noticed her looking over her shoulder often, checking windows before exiting buildings, spacing out during classes.. It was obvious that the encounter had unnerved her. 

He tried to ease her mind by rallying the trio to help. They recognized her sudden anxiety as well, and although Felix couldn’t tell them the exact reason, he hinted at it possibly being the usual nervousness of their first round of tests that was coming up. This caused them to swarm Marinette for study dates and extra lunches, asking questions about different subjects while they walked her to her locker or to her classes. When this strategy failed- which wasn’t often -Felix would also offer to accompany her. 

If she suspected his involvement in the extra attention, she didn’t show it, but she did relax after a few days of the special treatment. Felix took that as a success.

Marinette and Felix caught up with the rest of the group a few seconds later, and they all entered the aquarium together. Another shiver ran over Felix as they walked inside, the warmth of the building washing over him. He would have smiled with relief had it not been for the amount of people pushing against them. Despite the aquarium opening a little less than twenty minutes ago, people of all ages were already piling inside. Adults, teenagers, kids.. Felix supposed this was the price they paid for visiting on a Sunday.

“Everyone stay together!” Allegra instructed over the noise. She grabbed onto Felix’s wrist and Allan’s hand for emphasis. “We don’t want to get separated before we even pay for our tickets.”

Although it irked him for Allegra to be latching onto his wrist, Felix didn’t argue. Past experiences with the trio have made him well aware of how easy it was to get separated in a rushing crowd like this.

They weaved through the giddy schoolgirls and the tired parents until they found a steady line for the ticket both. There, they talked about which attractions to see first and which ones to save for later.

“I think we should just walk through.” Claude said, unsurprisingly. He was never one for order. “It’ll be easier if we just go.”

“But if we don’t have a plan, we’ll never get through it all.” Allegra pointed out. “It doesn’t have to be strict. We just need a vague goal to work towards.”

“We could start with the jellyfish?” Marinette suggested. “Those are always cool.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Allan agreed. “Then we could start working our way around to the shark tank. I say we save it for last since it’s the main reason we came.”

Claude let out a small whine. “Aw, what? Why would we wait till the end to see it if it’s the reason we came?”

“Come on, Claude, you know how the saying goes.” Allegra commented, flicking Claude on the shoulder. “Save the best for last.”

Claude grabbed his shoulder, even though the flick hardly hurt. “I never understood that expression.”

Allegra rolled her eyes with a smile and turned back to the group. “Are we all in agreement then? Start with the jellyfish and move to the sharks?”

“Works for me.” Allan shrugged.

“I don’t have a preference.” Felix stated, not that his opinion would matter much to anyone but Marinette.

With a (somewhat) solid plan, the group purchased their tickets and merged with the flow of the people to get to the main part of the aquarium. The first item on the list, aside from seeing Jellyfish, was to find lockers or another place to put their winter coats and gloves. Felix didn’t fancy the cold, but melting in a packed building also wasn’t preferable.

Allegra still held onto his wrist as they searched, but that didn’t stop the people around them from shoving and prodding to get through first. Felix jostled about, a scowl quickly forming on his lips after getting hit for the fifth time. How can it be so rowdy during the thirty minutes? Goodness knows what’s going to happen when more people start arriving! Why did he even agree to come here?

A gasp cut through the white noise of the crowd, and Claude called out Marinette’s name as she rushed forward. 

She stopped in front of the jellyfish tank they came upon and pressed her gloved hands to the glass, smile bright and eyes sparkling with awe. The jellyfish circled in the water with the current, glowing blue and purple and pink under the aquarium lights. 

A laugh of pure delight escaped Marinette, and she glanced over her shoulder at them. “Do you see how many there are? This is so neat!”

The sheer giddiness of her voice caused another smile to crawl onto Felix’s lips. Ah, yes. He remembered why he quickly relented to the aquarium visit. It was the first time Marinette had personally invited him to something, and he didn’t want to upset her if he fought against the activities as he usually did. After all, what thanks would that be to someone who constantly tries to keep him comfortable and respect his boundaries? 

“Yeah, they look amazing!” Allegra grinned, tugging Felix and Allan forward to follow the ravenette.

Felix followed with a slight glare. He knew that holding onto each other was for the best, but-

Another person slammed into his shoulder, and Felix full on growled at them as they walked off like nothing happened.

-but perhaps the next time he feels the need to repay Marinette’s kindness, he should simply send a ‘thank you’ letter instead.

Tag List:  @artbyknigit @athena452 @nickristus-dreamer @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @arsaem @abrx2002 @neakco @pawsitivelymiraculous @too0bsessedformyowngood @nathleigh @lusicing @officiallydarkgeek @all-mights-asscheeks @tbehartoo @woe-is-me0 @raeuberprinzessin @lazuli-11 @miss-chaos27 @trippingovermyfeet @sadpotatoondrugs @ladybug-182 @jaggedheart11 @marinahrasauce @i-need-blog-ideas @thewheezingbubbledragon @crazylittlemunchkin @unabashedbookworm @moonystars14 @sunflowers-and-mooncakes @2confused-2doanything  @magnificentcrapposts  @moonnette @nickristus-dreamer @casual-darkness @vixen-uchiha @luxmorningstarr 

[yannowhatigiveup]

My One And Only - Chapter 13

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So this chapter is probably as long as the first, maybe just a word or two longer idk idk. This story here has nearly caught up where I am right now so the updates will be less frequen, I’m also starting school again so yeah. The one-shot that I’m writing is nearly at 10k words and it’s not even that good-

"God, you really are an Angel". The blush on her face was very noticeable. She smiled at him before using her yo-yo to bring her to the akumatized victim. He watched as her silhouette jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Once she was out of sight, Damian looked back at the sunset. He chuckled to himself. "I guess when you bumped into me the other day, you gave me some of your Lady Luck".

———————————————————

"Wait wait wait, take two steps back." Chloe put both her hands up in confusion. "So you went to Andre's and what were the flavors that she got?"

"She got dark honey, lime and rose" Kagami answered.

"But he never explained the meaning behind them, which he always does" Alya added. Alya, Chloe and Kagami were in the blonde's room talking about the ice cream 'date' they went on with Marinette the other day.

"That reminds me, Alya?" Kagami asked. "Do you still think the ice cream represents Chat Noir?"

Chloe just blinked in surprise. "No, I met the guy recently" Alya replied. "He's perfect for her. Actually I should text him to see how Mari's doing" Alya took her phone out as Kagami nodded slowly. Chloe still looked like she was trying to wrap her head around the whole situation.

"So Mare-Bare has a crush on this 'foreign exchange student' and Alya met him the other day?" Kagami nodded, slightly amused at the blonde's confusion. "Do you think he likes her back?" Her question was both directed at Kagami and Alya who was still on her phone.

"Yeah I'm sure he does- wait he sent something" Alya let out a squeal of fangirlism as Chloe and Kagami went over to see what Alya was gushing over. Once the two girls came over, The reporter showed them a photo that got sent to her. It was Marinette, sound asleep on what Kagami and Chloe thought was the boy's chest. She was smiling and looked at peace.

"They look adorable~" Chloe cooed, having the same bright smile as Alya.

"He better not hurt Mari-hime" Kagami muttered, a soft smile appearing on her face as she looked at the photo.

~~~

"Pound it!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to defeat the villain, it was Sandboy again. He was at a sleepover and some of his friends told a scary story, and the rest was common knowledge. Ladybug was about to yo-yo out of there but Chat Noir stopped her before she could do so.

"Ladybug, wait"

'This can't be good, he barely ever sounds this serious' She wrapped the yo-yo back around her waist before answer. "Kitty, is something wrong?"

"Well-" he was cut-off by the sound of his miraculous beeping.

"We can talk about this next time, ok?". After he hesitantly nodded, Ladybug got her yo-yo. "Bug out!"

She landed in an alley near Le Grand Paris and de-transformed. Marinette then took the opportunity to process what happened. 'Lila said something bad, I got upset, I went to Damian's, He took me on a walk, We kissed, He asked me to be his girlfriend, I showed him I was Ladybug, I-' her train of thoughts stoppped. "Oh my god, I told him I was Ladybug" she breathed. Her kwami then flew in front of her face. "OhmygodohmygodiamsososososorryTikkiididn'tmean-"

"It's perfectly fine Marinette!" The bluenette was was cut off by Tikki's giggling. "There's something about that lover of yours, I can't quite place it but I know we can trust him"

Marinette blushed at Tikki's words but nodded. "Y-yeah, thanks Tikki".

The bluenette soon reached the hotel door that was all too familiar to her now, her face reddened slightly at the thought. She still let herself in though, making sure to lock the door behind her. When she had closed the door, she noticed her demon reading on the sofa, he put his book down as he noticed Marinette walk in. She walked over and stood behind the sofa, looking down on Damian as because she was standing, she was taller. He looked up and smirked at her.

"You know," her boyfriend began. "I had high suspicions of you being Ladybug, though, I couldn't be certain."

"How come your suspicions were so high?" Marinette asked, still smiling.

"Well when you're a vigilante yourself, I suppose it can be easier to pin point others' secret identities"

She smiled while rolling her eyes and kissed his forehead. She seemed tired and Damian made a mental note to tell her again later when she was more energized. Marinette then went to sit in the sofa and snuggle into Damian's muscular chest.

"Don't you have questions?" She murmured, she was too comfortable to move her head up.

"I do but they can wait" Damian stroked his fingers through his angel's hair. 'My Angel...' "You're tired"

"I'm not-" her yawn contradicted the words that were about to leave her lips and she grumbled in annoyance while Damian chuckled. "If I do sleep wake me up before 9, Maman and Papa are going to the airport and I want to say goodbye"

Damian remembered that Marinette's parents would be going to Marseille for around a week, they were going to open up a second location there as they had become well known in that part of the country. "Alright" he softly answered, he assumed that Marinette had fallen asleep already and his assumption was correct when he felt her slow and steady breathing. At that moment he got a message on his phone, a message from Alya. She was asking about Marinette's current predicament and Damian sent a picture of Marinette sleeping soundly, a smile on her face. He wasn't purposely trying to stay out of the frame but he wasn't in it either way.

Me: She's doing much better than earlier today, it would be best if Marinette would be the one to address what was wrong

Césaire: Oh ok, I'm glad she's feeling better

Césaire: u 2 look adorable af tho

If he blushed at that comment, no one would know. Damian put his phone down to look at his sleeping Angel. He smiled to himself and picked the bluenette up bridal style. He brought her to his bed and tucked her in to let her sleep, not before planting a kiss on her forehead, though. Damian focused his vision on the digital clock on the nightstand. '7:47 I'll let Marinette sleep until 9' His thoughts were interrupted by a small, squeaky voice.

"Damian"

His head quickly turned in the direction of the voice. 'I swear I didn't hear anyone else enter-' Damian had to blink twice. In front of him was a small, red, bug-like creature. 'What the fu-'

"Damian my name is Tikki, I am Marinette's kwami" she held her tiny arm out and Damian hastily lifted on of his finger's for the kwami to shake, he didn't know what else to do if he was being honest. "I understand that you have questions so you may ask some now, though, I understand if there are some you would like to ask her personally"

He nodded. "What....what is a kwami?" He asked hesitantly, not wanting to offend the kwami and still trying to get a hold of this new information.

"A kwami is, I guess, a miniature god that lives inside of a miraculous. The kwami is what gives the user's miraculous their powers as well as their hero costume. A miraculous is a piece of jewelry that grants the user powers. Marinette's miraculous is the Miraculous of the Laadybug, the earrings. They give her the power of Creation and Good luck" Damian nodded slowly, now back sitting on the couch. "Marinette in trusted you with her secret identity, I sense that I can trust you as well but I want to you to promise to keep her identity a secret, unless she says otherwise"

"Don't worry I will, I of all people should know the importance of keeping a secret identity a secret"

"You're a superhero?" Tikki questioned, not hearing what Damian told Marinette earlier

"Vigilante" he corrected.

"I guess that's why you have a trusting aura" Tikki pondered. "Thank you Damian, for making Marinette so happy"

"Anything to make her smile"

~~~

"Habibti, it's time to wake up" Damian gently shook Marinette's shoulder.

".......nnwhy" Marinette buried her face further into the pillow.

"You said you wanted to see your parents go to the airport, correct?"

"Oh right!" She jumped out of bed, any signs of tiredness was now gone. Damian chuckled slightly and moved towards her, he brought the ribbon he had taken earlier and put her hair back up in a ponytail. "Thanks!" She exclaimed after looking in the mirror. "I know I said I would explain everything but can I do that after we say goodbye to my parents?"

"Of course Angel"

She smiled brightly and the two walked out of the hotel to her parents' bakery, their arms linked together. As they arrived, they noticed two figures with bags and a taxi with it's boot open.

"Maman, Papa we came to say goodbye" Marinette walked over to her parents with Damian by her side, tilting her head slightly in confusion as they both smiled smugly at the couple.

"You came earlier than we thought you would Marinette and hello again...Damian is it?" Marinette's mother asked.

"Yes it is, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr Dupain, Mrs Cheng"

"No need for formalities son, Tom and Sabine" Tom said, giving Damian a bone-crushing hug.

"Papa!"

"Tom, dear, we don't want to suffocate the poor boy"

"Oh right!" Tom then put Damian down. "Is it safe to say that I assume you are Marinette's boyfriend?" The man asked, looking very joyfully at the blushing couple.

"Y-yeah" Damian murmured while Marinette nodded and both parents shot them big smiles.

"We were debating when that was going to happen" Sabine admitted with a shrug.

"Maman!"

"Oh would you look at the time, we better get going" Sabine smiled smugly, ignoring her daughter's protest. Both her and Tom engulfed Marinette in a hug and beckoned Damian to join in.

"Bye Maman, Bye Papa!"

"Goodbye Sabine, Goodbye Tom"

The couple watched the taxi leave for the airport, they stood in comfortable silence.

"So should I explain everything now? I can sleep over at your place if you want all the details" Marinette asked, blushing slightly at what she just said.

Damian realised that she was referring to sleeping over in his hotel room, honestly, he didn't mind. "If you want to"

"Great! Wait here I'll get my things"

~~~

"...and you're Multimouse too?" Damian continued after Marinette nodded. "Wow, that is...a considerable amount of information. And you called Tikki a 'bug-mouse'?" He chuckled amused at the flushed face his girlfriend now had.

"It was one time! The first time I saw her! Do you think I would have acted any differently?" She pouted and Damian took the opportunity to kiss her. He then got up to look at the time, smirking as he noticed the flushed bluenette in his peripheral vision. "Also, how did you work out that I was Ladybug?"

"For starters, I researched her- well, you and I couldn't help but notice how similar you two were, in build and personality. From there I just connected the dots"

"Huh, usually there's magic that prevents others from noticing things like that but it didn't work on you for some odd reason. That's- wait" she paused and blinked and then looked straight in Damian's eyes. Before he could voice out his confusion, she spoke again. "Did- did you just...make a pun?"

His forest green eyes widened "...no"

She laughed for a good while, especially when seeing the look on Damian's face. After she composed herself, she changed the subject. "Now it's your turn to explain, Shaytan"

"Hm alright, are you familiar with the vigilantes in Gotham?" He asked.

"The Bat-family? Are you one of Batman's comrades?" Marinette looked up at her boyfriend, wide-eyed with fascination like a child's. Damian couldn't help but melt at her expression.

"Yes and yes, my vigilante persona is known as-" he was about to tell her that he was Robin before she cut him off.

"Wait can I take a guess" Damian gestured her to do so. "Hmmmm considering your age, my options are narrowed down to one of the Batboys. Looking at your build I'd say that you are..Robin!" She said his name with great certainty.

He clapped while smiling. "You are correct, yet again"

"I'm surprised though, you don't seem like the type to be a traffic light" she teased.

"Tt, stop rubbing more salt in the wound" he groaned.

Marinette giggled. "So your brothers are the other Robins and your father is Batman, I presume?" Damian nodded. "Wow...who knew that two heroes from different places would fall in love?"

"I suppose I did" He looked at the clock again, it was 11:58. "It's getting late"

Marinette followed his vision to the clock. "Huh, I didn't even realise that the time flew by so quickly" she then got up to rearrange some of the pillows on the couch.

"What are you doing?" He asked, confused.

The bluenette looked at him, also confused. "I'm sleeping on the couch, right?"

"You can sleep on the bed, you are the guest after all. I can sleep on the couch"

"No, couldn't possibly! It's your room!"

The bickering went back and forth between the two while Tikki watched in amusement. 'If Plagg were here, he'd only add more fuel to the fire'. Most could argue that the relationship between the couple was moving too quickly but Tikki knew otherwise. The magic of the miraculous was at work. Only the true holders of the Ladybug miraculous and the miraculous of the Black Cat would be affected. That isn't always the case though, they would only be attracted to one another if the feelings they had were romantic and mutual. To most, it would appear that they were moving too quickly. But for the kwami, it was just a sign that the two true holders were found, and they were found together. 'I do have to tell Plagg, though'. Then the small kwami got an idea. "Why don't you both just sleep on the bed?"

The two then turned to Tikki, both faces were red but Marinette's shone through the most. The small kwami merely had an innocent smile on her face.

"...I-I guess that's manageable" Damian murmured.

"O-ok" Marinette mumbled, clearly too flushed for her own good.

~~~

"Alright Mari-bear, spill the beans"

Marinette had breakfast at Damian's before going home to change, she had to meet Jagged and Penny again to record and to discuss the name of the song because, for whatever reason, they hadn't done that yet. After, she promised that she would hang out with Alya, Chloe and Kagami in the blonde's room but she didn't expect to be interrogated. She briefly sugar-coated what Lie-la did and said, luckily her friends took the hint that she didn't want to talk about it. She also gained a new nickname, or a variant of one. Marinette noticed how Chloe interchangeably used 'Mare-Bare' and 'Mari-Bear' but they were more or less the same thing.

"Wha-" They all gave made a knowing face, the 'you know what I mean' face. She let out a defeated sigh. "S-so um...yesterday he asked me to be his girlfriend". The bluenette prepared herself for whatever was going to happen next, what followed was an ungodly amount of fangirl squeals. Even Kagami seemed to let one out.

"You said yes, right?" Kagami asked with a joyful tone. Marinette nodded. "So what's his full name?"

Marinette took a deep breath. "Queenie, do you keep track of who is staying in the hotel?"

"I guess" The blonde replied, glancing at her nails. "Why'd you ask?"

"Well, he's staying in room 301"

"Hm...that's one of the expensive rooms so that means-" Chloe let out a gasp of realisation. "No fucking way! How-" she then bursted out laughing, Marinette giggled as well.

"You lost me" Kagami looked between the two while Alya just shrugged her shoulders.

"Mari, Damian Wayne is your boyfriend? How you managed to thaw the Ice prince of Gotham's heart I will never know, only you Dupain-Cheng" Chloe, now recovering from laughing, was now looking at Marinette with admiration and interest.

"Wait, THE Damian Wayne?!" Alya gaped at Marinette.

"Y-yeah" The bluenette stammered and tried to hide her blush with her hands

"What's he like?"

"Is he as cold as they all say?"

"Does he treat you right?"

Marinette was bombarded with many questions regarding Damian. She struggled to keep up with each and every one of them. 'Is this what it feels like to be inundated by paparazzi?' She thought teasingly.

~~~

It was around noon. A spotted heroine jumped from roof top to roof top. She had just finished her patrol and was headed towards the Eiffel Tower, Chat Noir wanted to talk to her about something. He seemed serious too. Ladybug was slightly concerned for her friend, seeing Chat Noir act serious was a very rare sight. She voiced her concerns to Damian before she went out on patrol.

"You said he values your friendship, correct? In that case he probably wants to shelter you from whatever information he stumbled upon"

Marinette jokingly scoffed. "I'm not a damsel in need of protection thank you very much"

Damian smiled and hugged Marinette from behind while resting his chin on her head. "I know Angel, I know. That won't stop me from protecting you though"

Ladybug used her yo-yo as a grappling hook and landed gracefully on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower. Not surprisingly, Chat Noir was already there, waiting for her.

"Kitty?" The spotted heroine asked after a short moment of silence. "Is everything okay?"

The cat-themed hero sat on the floor, Ladybug sat in front of him and after a big breath, he spoke. "Ladybug, I- I don't think I'm the true holder of the Black Cat miraculous"

———

Taglist: @little-bluestar, @miracleofadisaster, @frieddonutsweets, @jjmjjktth, @genderfluidmoma, @starlit-dreaming, @icerosecrystal, @lolieg, @kashlyn, @mochegato, @eggadoodle, @walkingthroughonautopilot, @toodaloo-kangaroo

[chicoriii]

Adrienette things I want to see much in canon

While there's still Adrienette April. Not necessary all this season, not necessary all any time soon. Random order.

1. Adrien playing on the piano specially for Marinette. Since I'm instrumental music lover and musical instruments, I would be angry if we won't see that ever. Bonus points if a piece he's playing is actually good, not cheesy one like that thing from Heart Hunter.

2. Marinette carring lucky charm made by Adrien. We've never seen it again after Befana, which is weird, that one held by Adrien has been shown several times.

3. Adrien and Marinette hanging out more as friends. With Alya and Nino but also alone. More Adrien at Marinette's place, maybe playing video games or eating and talking with her parents. Maybe even Marinette at Adrien's room if it would be ever possible.

4. Adrien confiding in Marinette about his home life when they will be closer to each other as friends. It's really crucial for developing of their relationship. Chat Noir and even Adrien is helping and comforting Ladybug/Marinette how he can, we need to see Marinette doing the same for Adrien. Yes, she has done some of it before, like convincing Gabriel to let Adrien to go to New York, but I mean emotional support. Marinette really needs to understand his home situation better and in my opinion it should have happen before the reveal and before they start dating. I think one of reason why their relationship has caused a disaster in Chat Blanc was insufficient knowledge how Adrien's home life is really looks like.

[m19writes4mlb]

Defenceless - Chapter 2

Summary: Marinette gets trapped inside her own head. A stray cat notices and does something about it.

Chapter: 2/?

Word Count: 4303

Rating: T

Vulnerability was not something she allowed herself often. As Ladybug, Marinette felt as though she owed it to Paris to be strong. She knew she couldn’t indulge in sadness or anger like her fellow Parisians could. The second she accepted the Ladybug Miraculous, she made a commitment to put Paris and its citizens above everything. She was the city’s heroine first and foremost. Ladybug needed to be calm and collected at all times. She needed to keep everything under control, for millions of people were counting on her. She had to be a pillar of hope and strength for her city, for she knew that were she not around, Shadow Moth would’ve won already.

Behind the mask and underneath her superpowers, still lies a teenage girl however. She was still growing up and learning, a teen who had yet to experience so much. People her age should be making mistakes and learning from them, hanging out with friends and gossiping about ongoing drama at school, experimenting with relationships, and discovering themselves. Then again, she had responsibilities bigger than those of most adults she knew, and she couldn’t allow herself a single misstep.

Marinette had tried. She had tried so hard to lead a normal life. Nevertheless, all of those attempts backfired.

She had to balance being Ladybug with her responsibilities as guardian, school, her design commissions, her online shop, babysitting, helping her parents out in the bakery, and her duties as class representative whilst still having a semblance of a social life. One of those was bound to be unintentionally neglected, it turned out that in this case, the blow was taken by her social life. Whenever Marinette attempted to hang out with someone, be it her friends or her boyfriend Luka - ex-boyfriend she melancholy reminded herself -, an Akuma decided to attack and she had to cut whatever they were doing short. This put a strain on her relationships with those around her, and it led to all of them gradually deteriorating. She saw it happening right before her, yet there was nothing she could do about it.

Marinette could tell those around her were getting more and more frantic with the need of an explanation. She kept standing people up, disappearing in the middle of whatever they were doing, and running so late to planned events that they were basically over by the time she got there.

Luka, sweet, too-good-for-her Luka, was trying his best to be understanding. He was doing everything in his power to be the best partner for the girl he deemed as pure as a musical note and as sincere as a melody. Marinette, however, felt as far from that as one ever possibly could with the weight of the secrets she guarded. She knew Luka was close to reaching his breaking point. He was getting more and more restless and asking more and more questions whenever Marinette disappeared or became a no-show to their dates. He once told her that she could tell him as much or as little as she wanted and he was giving it his all by sticking to his words, never turning to anger or demanding for something she didn't give willingly. Still, Marinette was witness to how much her none-answers were hurting him.

Marinette could see the storm of hurt and doubt that was beginning to brew on his ocean eyes. She had the best seat in the house for the unravelling of Luka Couffaine and she hated that she was the one who directed it. Marinette knew she had to end it all before she could do any more damage to him. Before there was nothing left of the one amazing boy who managed to make himself at home in her heart regardless of the fact that it had already been occupied.

They had only been together for around six months, but Marinette had grown to care deeply about Luka, she even dares say she might love him. He was her refuge when things got too overwhelming. Luka was always ready with willing, open arms to help hold her together when she was close to falling apart. He had seen her utterly and completely broken, and got her through her despair as a civilian. He owned a piece of her heart, just not the whole of it, which is another reason as to why Marinette felt so dirty for putting him through everything she had done so.

Marinette knew one can only put up with so much, and she was aware Luka was close to snapping. She stood him up or disappeared for long periods of time mid-date more and more often. Her lackluster excuses were not cutting it anymore, and even if he never pressed for more, she knew it was taking a toll on him not to do so. The only way to fix everything as far as she could see was by telling the truth, and that was the one thing she couldn't ever do, no matter how tempting the prospect was.

Earlier today, her disappearing act had finally grown old, and the ever-brewing storm behind Luka's eyes had ultimately turned into a full-blown hurricane. He begged her for answers. He told her that he needed that sincerity he first saw on her back. Luka asked for it with such desperation and despair that he became the perfect prey for Paris's local supervillain.

Fighting Vérité and Pharo turned out to be one of the most exhausting and painful Akuma fights of her career. Vérité’s power wasn't the most destructive or difficult to fight. Yes, forcing people to dispel their biggest secrets was a dangerous threat for those who needed to hide their identities, but what made Vérité such a formidable opponent was the fact that he was Luka Couffaine, co-owner of Marinette's, aka Ladybug's, heart. She knew she had caused her lover enough anguish for a black butterfly to hunt him down. She knew that any damage that resulted from this was on her, and that it was she, and she alone, who had driven this beautiful soul to such a state.

She knew her boyfriend deserved better. Thus, when Vérité became Luka again, she finally did what she had been too afraid - maybe even too selfish - to do before in spite of all the signs she had seen. Marinette had ended things with Luka.

He took it in stride, hugging her close and promising to be there for her when she was ready. Despite everything, he still wanted to be there for her, regardless of everything she put him through, Luka still cared, and she really did not feel worthy of such unconditional love from him.

After walking away from the bridge where the fate of her first relationship was decided, she got home. She showered, put on her comfiest pjs, and climbed to her balcony. She observed the streets of Paris, the city she had sworn to protect just a bit over a year and a half ago. Would she have made such a commitment if she had known the sacrifices she'd have to make to keep it?

When push comes to shove, not only has her relationship with Luka taken a blow. She can't even remember the last time she had a proper hangout with her girls. So many around her wanted to help, to understand what had dimmed the fire inside the always-warm and positive Marinette. Nevertheless, Marinette could not let them in. Not a soul was allowed to know that she carried the weight of the safety of Paris and the Miracle Box on her shoulders. She was to carry this burden on her own, for anyone who was to know not only would become a target, but also a liability.

Her vision became blurry as the weight of all her responsibilities and today's events finally crashed down on her. Her knees buckled as a sob wracked her body. She curled into herself, bringing her knees to her chest and hiding her face in her hands. It wasn’t fair.

She gave this city her everything. If one never stops giving, they’re bound to exhaust themselves at some point. She knew she was almost there, but she didn’t want to give up. Her city, her people, her minou all needed her. She had to stand tall and strong, for everyone’s sake.

Even so, just for now, Marinette allowed herself a break down. She permitted herself just for a small while to open the chest, buried deep, within herself and spill its contents. She let her pain run free. She was tired, so tired. She felt like she had bitten more than she could chew. Never before had Marinette felt this overwhelmed. Not even when Lila had managed to get her expelled had she felt so hopeless, so alone.

“CATACLYSM!”, Chat Noir’s scream brought her out of her spiral of misery.

Marinette lifted her face to see Chat’s closed fist right beside her head.

Her eyes bulged and her hands went for her mouth as she processed what had just occurred. She almost got herself akumatized. That’s how much of a failure she was. If her Chaton hadn’t been here, what would’ve happened? She was probably the worst guardian ever!

She wanted to stop crying. She didn’t want Chat to see her like that. Still, her eyes weren’t cooperating. If anything, more and more tears kept coming, and she didn’t know what to do.

“Marinette? Please tell me what’s wrong, Princesse?”, Chat said as he crouched in front of her. He put a hand on her shoulder whilst he used the other to wipe her tears. Marinette’s lip trembled as Chat gazed earnestly at her.

“I-I just can’t do this anymore, Chat. It’s all just too much and I-I just don’t know what to do.”, Marinette cried out. She hadn’t really meant to say anything. If her head were clearer, she probably would’ve tried to pass off her breakdown as something trivial, an easily fixed thing that she was overreacting to. Yet her guard was down. The chest that held her secrets was opened, and she simply did not have the energy to bury everything again.

Chat pulled her in. He asked no more questions nor pressed her to elaborate. He just held her close and rubbed soothing circles onto her back as he rested his chin atop her head. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, Marinette holding onto him like a lifeline. He offered her shelter from the world, and she was determined to make the most of it. Slowly, her sobs subsided into whimpers and later on disappeared altogether.

Chat’s ring beeped, but he didn’t try to pull away; actually, he held on tighter. Marinette looked up. Chat had his eyes screwed shut whilst he cradled her. For the first time that night, she took in his appearance. His hair was messier than usual. In fact, it looked like he had been pulling on it. His face seemed slightly redder and puffier as well. His cheeks were glistening a little due to what gave the impression of being hastily wiped tears. It appeared she wasn’t the only one having a rough day.

“Chat?”, she asked in a soft voice.

He screwed his eyes shut tighter and let some air out, but aside from that he didn’t offer much of a response. Marinette lifted a hand to his cheek. She used her thumb to gently wipe away the dry tear tracks there.

“Minou, what’s wrong? Do you want to talk about it?”, she murmured.

“I honestly don’t think I have the time to even begin to explain myself, Princesse.”, Chat responded with a humourless laugh. As if on cue, his ring beeped again. 3 minutes left, Marinette mentally tallied.

Marinette didn't really want to let go. Chat's arms felt like a haven, and she did not want to leave their safety any time soon. She took a deep breath. It was probably reckless, but she couldn’t really find it in herself to let him go. After everything that had happened today, she felt as though she was owed a bit of indulgence.

“Do… Do you want to come inside? I know that your timer is running out, but…”, she said as she looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed by her own forwardness. She took a moment to collect herself before looking up again and continuing, “But I don’t really want to be alone right now, and… I think you don’t want to either. We could talk… or not. I know you have to recharge, and I have a fair amount of snacks inside. I promise I won’t peek, I-I just don’t want to be so lonely.”

Chat hesitated a bit. She knew what she asked him to do was risky, but she truly felt like it was what they both needed at the moment. She waited with bated breath before Chat nodded.

“Who am I to deny a princess such a sincere request?”, he joked with a sad smile.

His ring gave another warning, and Marinette stood up and guided him by the hand towards the trap door leading to her room. She noticed Chat was careful to avoid landing on her bed with his boots, as she moved them to her loft. Marinette went to one of her drawers and pulled out a bag of cheesy popcorn. She knew Plagg favoured cheese, but she only kept non-perishables for the kwamis. She hoped the god of destruction and chaos wouldn’t mind that much.

“I know this might not be your kwami’s preferred food, but I hope this still works. Stand behind the screen right there. I’ll get some blankets and snacks. We could watch something, or just talk, whatever you want.”

Marinette was a bit nervous. This really wasn’t wise. She kept the Miracle Box, full of restless kwamis, here. She knew she could trust Tikki to stay hidden, but what about the rest? This was chancy, but she needed it. She was almost akumatized a few minutes ago. She needed to get herself together, and she knew that if she was left alone with her thoughts and that just wasn’t going to happen.

“Claws in”, whispered Chat as a flash of green light filled the room.

It felt strange to know that her partner was standing just a few meters away, disguiseless. If she wanted to, she could easily find out who it was that hid behind the black mask. She would never betray his trust like that, but the fact that he was right there hidden by a mere changing screen was thrilling.

Marinette knew he was distressed too, and she wanted to help. She knew better than to pry too much. It was imperative they stayed in anonymity. Nevertheless, she vowed to do everything she could to help.

Marinette went about and grabbed her laptop, a big, fluffy blanket, a box of tissues, and a bag of popcorn. She settled on her chaise and made herself comfortable. She figured that regardless of whether Chat wanted to talk or not, having some show or movie playing even if just for background noise wouldn’t hurt. Just as she started browsing, a flash of green overtook the room once more, signalling Chat Noir was back.

He approached her chaise timidly. Marinette was aware that with the two of them it would be a snug fit, but she wanted the contact. She needed the reaffirmation that she was not on her own, that the one person who could relate the most to her was there. She wanted him close, but she was not about to make him feel uncomfortable for her own gain. She was feeling self-indulgent, but never to that extent.

“I know the chaise is small, but I promise it’s pretty cosy. We could sit on the floor if you’d prefer though.”

Marinette began to stand. After all, she didn’t want to put Chat on the spot. Were she Ladybug right now, she knew her minou would jump at the chance to be close to her, but she was Marinette at the moment. Even if her civilian self and Chat had spent some time together before, le Dessinateur and Glaciator coming to mind, they were not nearly as close as Ladybug and he were.

“You don’t have to move, Princesse. I’m more than okay with sharing the chaise.”, he replied hastily.

Chat got under the blanket and sat beside Marinette, leaning back to rest more comfortably on the pillows. Marinette passed the popcorn and tissues to Chat whilst she continued her quest for what to watch.

“Do you like Disney? They’re kind of my comfort movies, and I kinda need as much of it as I can get right now.”, Marinette told Chat.

Disney movies were familiar. They reminded Marinette of simpler, happier times. She needed something light-hearted with a happy ending guaranteed. Lord knows she couldn’t take any more drama.

“I don’t mind Disney at all, but my favourite princess is right by my side.”, Chat said, bumping his shoulder with hers and offering her a lopsided smile. He paused before adding on a more serious note, “But really, Marinette, what’s wrong?”

His gaze on her was soft. Concern was written clearly on his face. He was safe. He was safe, she chided. Marinette trusted her Chaton. He was understanding, and genuinely wanted to help. She knew she could let him in, but she also knew it was risky. Her biggest problem stemmed from being Ladybug and she couldn’t let anyone know about that, regardless of how much she trusted them. She was aware she couldn’t share everything, but maybe opening up a little wouldn’t hurt. She needs this, just for today, she’ll allow herself to be honest.

“It’s kind of a mix of a lot of stuff.”, she started softly, averting her gaze. She chose her next words carefully, for she was about to play with fire. “I am used to having a lot on my plate. Balancing a million things at once is just second nature to me at this point. I used to be okay with all of it. After all, most of it is to help others. I love being able to be there for those I care for. I am fine with giving, and giving, and giving if it’s for them. The problem is that I can’t find balance anymore. I can’t remove anything from my plate; that just won’t do. But if I keep going on like this, it’s all going to consume me.”

Tears started blurring her vision, but she blinked them away. She wasn’t going to start crying again. Lord knows she can’t risk Shadow Moth trying to get her again. “It’s already taking a huge toll on my social life. I haven’t seen my friends in so long…. I-I even had to break up with my boyfriend because of it all.”

She could’ve stopped there, but once she started she realised that the further she went the lighter she felt. It was like a dam had broken and her words were the water once held back, flowing at rapid, unstoppable speed.

“I used to think that I thrived by helping others out. I enjoy it, and love what I do, but I might have overestimated my abilities. I thought I could handle it all since I have been doing just that for so long. I hadn’t really noticed until lately how much of a toll shouldering on so many things is taking on me. I keep chipping away pieces of myself for the sake of it all. My responsibilities won’t stop calling. It all came crashing down today with Vérité. All Luka wanted was for me to be honest about why I kept disappearing and standing him up, and the truth was that I couldn’t tell him. I wanted to, but I genuinely cannot go into detail about some of my responsibilities. I realised that Luka deserved better than a flaky girlfriend.”

Her voice had started out frantically following a crescendo until it peaked and trickled into barely a whisper with her final realisation as a single tear slipped, “Maybe I never deserved him and I was just too selfish to admit it to myself.”

Suddenly, green eyes met blue ones for Chat had turned Marinette to look at him and in a tone that left no room for discussions said, “You are one of the most selfless and caring people I know, Marinette. You are smart, quick-witted, and kind. It is normal to need to break away from it all sometimes, especially when you have so much going on. Needing a breather does not suddenly erase all the goodness in your heart and the positivity you put out into the world. It simply proves you are human.”

“But there is just so much to do, kitty. I cannot just get up and take a break. People are counting on me, people I care about. I don’t want to let anyone down.”, she said, breaking eye contact and looking down.

Chat softly lifted her face by the chin so she was looking at him again before saying, “Taking a break doesn’t mean letting people down. You could delegate things. I am sure you have friends who would be more than willing to help. I’m sure if you start getting a bit of help from others, not only would you feel better, but you’ll also do better.”

Marinette knew Chat was right. She could ask one of her girls to help her out with babysitting. She could delegate certain meetings with Principal Damocles to Alya. She could even ask her parents to cut her some slack at the bakery. However, Marinette did not want to bother them. She didn’t want to annoy anyone by throwing her responsibilities at them. They all have their own lives, and Marinette did not want to make them any harder for them.

“I don’t want to be a burden, Chat. I don’t want to bother my friends with all of this.”, she said feeling small.

“Marinette, sometimes you have to accept that you can’t do it all on your own. Take Ladybug and me, for example. Sometimes an akuma is a bit too strong, and we just can’t take it on by ourselves. So, Ladybug goes out and asks someone she trusts to come help us out. I mean, you know that better than most, or am I wrong, Multimouse?”, Chat questioned, giving her a mischievous smirk.

Marinette smiled mirthfully at the reference to her stint with Mullo. It certainly was amongst her more complicated plans, but it thankfully worked out perfectly in the end. Plus, Chat had a point. When things got too rough, Ladybug asked for help. If her persona as one half of Paris’s duo protectors could do it, her civilian-self should be able to too.

“Plus, good friends are always there for each other, and I am sure yours are not the exception. They’ll understand if you need a helping hand. After all, you are always there for them. None of them will hesitate in returning the favour. I am sure you can count on them.”, Chat continued with conviction.

Marinette had to admit Chat Noir was making a lot of good points. Her kitty was surely onto something. She definitely should start mapping out a plan to delegate some things in a way that will not include her dropping the ball on something or unceremoniously unloading too much on someone.

She still was the Guardian. She still was Ladybug. She was still just a kid who got the responsibility of keeping a city of millions safe from a terrorist unceremoniously thrown at her despite everything that was already on her plate beforehand. But right now, with her Chaton at her side, she got reminded that she did not have to do it all alone. She has friends and loving, understanding parents. She has a strong support system, all she needs is to learn how to use it, which is honestly easier said than done. However, she can finally see a light at the end of this tunnel, all she needs to do is find a way to follow it.

A feeling akin to relief floods her. Not everything is fixed, but the right direction for her next step has just been given to her. Marinette is incredibly grateful towards her kitty right now, and she lets this feeling take over. She does not hesitate when putting her arms around him and pulling him close, hiding her face on the crook of his neck. Chat hesitates for a second, probably surprised by her suddenness. Regardless, he still puts his arms around her waist and holds her close.

The smell of leather, a fresh woodsy cologne, and a slight hint of camembert that she guesses is Plagg’s fault fills her nostrils, soothing her further. She knows she can always count on Chat Noir. Tears of happiness suddenly prickle her eyes. Just a couple of minutes ago she was feeling alone and hopeless, but her wonderful, wonderful partner showed her how mistaken she was. She cannot begin to put into words how grateful she is, certain that her voice would fail her anyway right now. That does not stop her from muttering a very watery, “Thank you, Kitty.”

They stay like that for a while, Marinette just struggling a bit to compose herself. However, once her breathing evens out again, she pulls away and looks at Chat Noir. She knows something is bothering him, and she wants to help him through whatever he’s going through. Thus, she decides to inquire, “Now, don’t think I didn’t notice I wasn’t the only one who had it rough today. Tell me, Chaton. What’s wrong?”

← Chapter 1

Author's Note

I honestly struggled with getting this one down. I want to porperly portray what I believe the repercussions of being Ladybug and Chat Noir is having on Marinette and Adrien. It is clearly taking a toll on them, and the show doesn't really delve all that much on that (for obvious reasons).

We got a fair glimpse during Gang of Secrets on Mari's case, but when it comes to Adrien we get nothing more than hints here and there. I understand why the show can't do much about showing us this because of its status as a children's show. Thus, I've decided that I'd take matters into my own hands and write that myself. That's why I decided to give Defenceless a T rating instead of a G one.

I hope you guys enjoy Defenceless as much I enjoy writing it! :)

Ko-fi AO3

[barkkletshunt]

Those Worth Fighting For Part seven

Part one          Part two

Part three        Part four

Part five           Part six

Part Seven (You’re here)       Part eight 

Taglist:

@ladybug-182 @fruit-snacc-ace @miraculous-simmer7 @lavenderjunes 

@use-flamethrower @fan-written @all-mights-asscheeks @birdie-posts

Sorry if the tags aren’t working, I tried and I’m not sure where I went wrong with it? 

If I have time the next part will come out with some art! Don’t expect the art to be any good though lol

“So then, I go to the window and there is Adrien on Kagami’s front lawn with a big sign that says prom on it, and by the way neither of us knew he was going to be in France at all. It was a total surprise. So I’m so shocked my mind completely blanks out and I shout down to him that yes, I’ll go to prom with him. He yells back ‘tall Kagami’ and I turn around and just ‘your boyfriend just asked to go to prom with me.’ Without skipping a beat she leans out of the window and tells him he’s too late, she already asked me.” Marinette laughed, wiping a stray tear from her eye that began to form from how hard she was trying to not burst into a fit of giggles until the story ended. “In the end the three of us went to prom together.”

The four around the table shook their heads. “Mari, dude, if you can’t get through that story without laughing how are you supposed to do your toast?”

“I’ll just practice it a lot until it’s no longer funny to me, simple. I’m not even going to worry about it anymore.” The blue haired girl shrugged. When she was younger she would have worried about that, but she was long since past that. At least, she hoped she was. She had done enough interviews with Alya in her teen years, and then enough speeches as Ladybug to fill her with a confidence she lacked as a teen. She was nervous, but instead of the all consuming nervousness that would make her fumble and trip over her words it was now an excited nervousness. She was excited about it. 

“I think you’ll do fine,” Felix winked at her, his face never changing from the impartial look he had on since he came into the restaurant.

They all had made their way back to the same place after the amok, even if Felix was late once again. The blond had made his excuses of needing to take care of some errands that he had forgotten, but it hadn’t mattered much to any of them. Marinette had saved a seat next to her for him and he was more than happy to take it.

“Why not talk about the moment you realized those two were perfect for each other?” Nathaniel asked, playing with the straw in his drink. “I know you have a million stories about that.”

“Something like Adrien saving Kagami from a bully, or a dance of just the two of them where they lock eyes and suddenly the whole room disappears?” Marc hummed, their author brain going into overdrive at the thought of romance. “Maybe you saw him protect her against an akuma or amok?”

Marinette thought for a moment. What was it that made her realize that they belonged together? After all those years fawning over Adrien, it was Kagami’s love for him that made her step down, but what was the exact moment? 

“It was at Chloe’s fifteenth birthday party.” Marinette started, recalling the time before Hawkmoth had lost and her world began to fall apart and fix itself simultaneously. “Adrien’s dad thought it would be a good idea for Kagami to go with him and keep an eye on his son, and they started the evening miserable because the paparazzi outside the hotel told them that they always looked so perfect that it made sense that they would be perfect together. I only got to spend a few minutes with them before being pulled away by Chloe, but when I went to find them and bring them some hot chocolate they were on the roof ruffling each other's hair and talking about anime, and goofing around like I hadn’t seen either of them do before.” 

“They saw that the other understood their background and chose to help break out of that image with each other and just be kids.” Felix’s words surprised her, but he understood exactly what had happened. 

“They were so embarrassed when they saw me that I challenged them both to hot chocolate drinking contests to ease the awkwardness. They didn’t even realize I didn’t have one for myself before chugging theirs and burning their mouths at the same time.” Her two messy friends meant the world to her, and she knew no one would understand them like they understood each other. Both of them had strict parents that would only let them escape and be kids when they were with the other, and they took those opportunities and made every moment count. They were what each other needed, and then when they got their freedoms they were still the ones they chose. “I think that’s also when they stopped acting perfect in front of me. Adrien really started to bug me to watch anime so he could talk about it with someone other than his girlfriend, and Kagami soon demanded to be my dress up doll because she never got to do that growing up. They became my best friends and honestly, I think I’m better for it too.”

“How romantic.” Marc swooned, leaning against Nathaniel who caught his significant other with a laugh. “Childhood friends, to rivals, to lovers. 50K slowburn.”

“Once there was an akuma trying to hurt Adrien and Kagami picked up the nearest weapon she could find and just went at ‘em and I have never seen Adrien’s face light up like that. The boy just wants to be loved and protected.” Nino joined in. “Alya and I were shocked, we both had our money on Adrien ending up with someone else, but we’re both happy about it. Speaking of which, I gotta update her on what’s going on here. She’ll flip.”

Felix shifted in his seat, catching Marinette’s eye as Nathaniel and Marc continued talking about Kagami and Adrien’s relationship. He wasn’t there for all those moments, he wasn’t a long term friend of everyone so he didn’t know Alya or Chloe and she wouldn’t doubt it if he had felt out of place in the conversation. 

“Pst,” she scooted herself over, getting closer to him and leaning over to whisper at him. “You look nice today.”

Felix blinked in surprise. Within seconds his face was growing warm and he used his hand to cover the lower half of his face as inconspicuously as possible. “Aren’t I the one who’s supposed to say that, Miss. Dupain-Cheng?”

“I’m afraid I beat you to it, Mr. Graham De Vanily.” She whispered back. “But it’s okay, you might get me next time.”

How long had it been since she was able to flirt with someone without losing herself in the what-if’s and teenaged anxiety that had plagued her? How had one battle fighting side by side with Ryuko, Alley Cat, and the others given her so much confidence that she hadn’t had even during the fight itself? Was it that damned cat’s words? He had unknowingly complimented her to her face and she was still beaming with pride over being called brilliant. Being complimented on her looks was nice, but the way he had complimented her on her mind was something else. She supposed that was what did it, after all. Being told that she was great because of who she was and not because of how she looked filled her with a pride she didn’t even want to describe lest it dampened the feeling inside her chest. 

“Well then, until next time, you look wonderful. You’re outfit choice is on point, as always.” His comment hit straight to her heart. There it was again. A comment on something she chose being good. “And although you are trying to start a fire with my face, I am enjoying this time with you away from colour pallets and order forms. I like seeing this other side of you, Marinette.”

“I’d like to say the same thing, but it has come to my attention that you seem to only wear suits, Felix. This is the same side of you I always see.” She couldn’t help her grin. There was a strange formal banter between them that she found exhilarating. In it’s own way it made her feel like part of the aristocratic world that he and Adrian and Kagami belonged to, without having to deal with the fakeness that the latter two often complained about. “Dare I say, I don’t believe you own anything that isn’t a suit.”

“I’d hate to inform you of this, but you’re incorrect on that front.” Felix moved the hand that was covering his face to let himself rest his chin upon it. “I do, and I’d prefer it if you don’t go to the press with this, own a few sets of pajamas.”

“And are they silk and made to look like a suit?” She asked, now leaning against him to softly poke at his arm. “I bet you had them custom made so that you would never appear unprofessional.” 

“Well, well, aren’t you curious to see my pajamas? Shame you won’t get to see them until our fourth date.” Felix leaned his head against hers, and her heart began to race. 

“So, are you two actually a thing?” Nino’s voice broke them out of their moment. Marinette and Felix realized how it must have looked to the others and immediately sat straight in their seats. 

Nathaniel elbowed Nino in the ribs. “Dude!”

“What? I’m just trying to clear things up for my daily Alya report.” Nino tried to defend himself from the onslaught of hands trying to hit him from Marc and Nathaniel. “It gets complicated sometimes and you know my girl won’t let anything rest until she has all the info!”

“If Miss. Dupain-Cheng would like to, as you put it, actually be a thing, then I would be honoured to.” He said it so simply that Marinette wasn’t sure why she had hesitated before. He did like her. 

“Only if you wear your pajamas to our next late night planning session.” Marinette wasn’t willing to let the pajamas slide. “I have to see you out of a suit before we get all lovey dovey. It’s a rule.”

“Did you make that rule just for me?”

“Of course.”

“Well, don’t I feel special.” Felix thought to himself, making a bit of a show of it as he tossed his head side to hide. His braid that previously rested on his shoulder now swinging back and forth behind him, looking like a cat's tail as it got ready to play. “I think I have room to negotiate here, so if I may I am going to put the added condition that you must also wear your pajamas.”

“I don’t think this is supposed to be a business transaction, dude,” Nino tried, but Marinette held her hand up. She could negotiate. 

“I’ll accept those terms on the condition that you buy coffee, and we get to watch a movie together with some popcorn.” Marinette raised her brow, daring Felix to try to get a better deal out of her. 

“If I am purchasing coffee, popcorn, and a movie, then I will push for some baked goods from your parents bakery.” Felix held out his hand. “Well?”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Graham De Vanily, but I accept your terms.” Marinette took his hand and shook it. That was the most fun she had ever had while figuring out plans for a date, and she knew she’d have more fun watching the movie with Felix than she just did. “A movie date in our pajamas with snacks it is.”

“I’ll pick you up friday night at eight?” 

“I can’t wait to see your suit pajamas.”

“I bet you have frills on yours.”

“And you don’t?”

[superlonelypin]

you know what, just to make myself hurt...

au where Marinette finds her way into the DC universe... Well she wonders around for a bit before Wonder Woman, or Black Canary take her in and and care for her as they help this teenage girl find her way back to her own universe. Well this takes awhile, like a few years because they haven't even stepped foot into different universes, just earth's, none of the speedsters have run that fast to break that barrier.

So Marinette is stuck there for three to four years (could be longer, up to you) in that time Marinette and Damian meet, fight and hate each other, grow to tolerate one another, become friends, pine over one another, aNd then fall in love. In that exact order, but make it dramatic.

Anyways, Damian's proposed to this girl, and about a week after the proposal the league has finally broken the code to crossing universes and found Marinette's. The young couple are heart broke, especially Marinette because part of her wants to stay and marry Damian, have a family with him and everything, but another part of her wants to go back home, see her friends (what's left of them at least) hug her mother and father, possibly see her grandmother and the rest of her family.

Then some big, life threatening event happens, and Marinette gets trapped in her universe for a few years. Neither Damian nor her have moved on from one another. They still wear their engagement rings on their fingers and everything.

Somehow Nette, finds her way back to Damian, no one knows how (she could build a deminsion cannon, yes, like in doctor who, this is literally where I got this au from) everyone had thought it impossible to crossover, lord knows the speedsters had been trying to find a way with Damian so that he could be reunited with his beloved. Anyways, so Marinette's found her way back over, but of course, it's for life or death purposes.

The two lost lovers find one another and reunite, they are happy for a short while, before reality comes crashing down on the couple, forcing then to focus on the matter at hand. (Not sure what should happen)

Anyways, the threat is taken care of, and Marinette is running out of time, she's burning up a sun in order to stay with Damian, the deminsion cannon can only go so long before disappearing with or without her, so the two stand before one another, both crying Marinette is confessing some things. The two have children, twins, born on her universe (a boy and a girl you can name them whatever but at the moment I'mma go with Antoine and Maryam). Damian is devastated he's missed out on so much, but he's also come to find out Marinette has no one but their children, her parents had died in an akuma accident while ladybug had been away, and her grandparents had died of old age. All her friends had moved on, or simply become so engrossed with Lila's stories they can't tell the difference between fact and lies.

Damian, the man that he is, knows he cannot leave his own universe, and he can't be selfish enough to keep the mother of his children to himself, so he does the hardest thing he's had to do, he lets her go back (this part will play out like how rose left the doctor on the beach, or I guess it's the other way around).

Anyways, with the right equations, the speedsters soon find their way back to Marinette, this time, years doesn't pass, maybe about a few months, and the small family are reunited and soon the wedding of the century is about to take place.

___

yes, I still have writer's block :/

[amberwild420]

one step back, two steps forward (pt. 2)

Masterlist

College Françoise DuPont

** **

College Françoise DuPont, a place that gives chances to many talented young people.

 That’s what was written on the pamphlet.

 Kaylan felt a part of her sanity leaving her, when she sat in front of the owlish principal.  He was incompetent, useless and down side money lover.

  How did she know that?

Perks of having her abilities.

And then came the teacher.

IN.COM.PE.TENT.

She was sure that one word was definitely not enough to summarize her ability as a teacher. And the living proof of her incompetent behavior was her new class. She felt like tearing her hair out and banging her head on the wall.

At least Marinette was nice.

Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie

Eyes wide open and jaws dropped Kaylan looked at the bakery. She than looked at the girl who brought her here. Marinette was smiling like an angel.

 When you said you were taking me your place I was expecting a house or an apartment, not a bakery.

Was she drooling at the thought of heavenly sweets she can get from them? Well sue her for having a sweet tooth that no one but her mother knows about.

Marinette giggled then gestured the other girl to come in. Inside were her what looked like her parents behind the counter.

 Maman, papa, I brought a classmate.

 Her parents frowned a little but it changed to cheerful smiles when they noticed Kaylan.

 It’s nice to meet you sweetie. I’m Sabine and this is Tom. Hope our Marinette is kind to you.

The said girl whined. But Kaylan was sweating bullets. Dear god who was that giant of a man? Why was he so tall? And what’s with the woman? Why was she so intimidated by a woman who was smiling like sun? AND WHY THE DANGER BELLS ARE RINGING IN HER HEAD?!!!

 I-i-it’s nice to meet you! Please take care of me.

She squeaked pathetically before a look of horror came on her face and she was bowing rapidly.

I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I don’t believe that happened. I’m sorry I disrespected you. I’m really sorry.

Hey it’s no worry. Stop.

Kaylan groaned and hid her face in her hands. Her ears were red telling them that she was just embarrassed.

 I haven’t lost my cool in my entire life.

Well, we tend to make people show their different sides.

 Sabine chuckled and welcomed the girl in. Marinette showed her way to her room. It was pink. But the half-finished suit on the mannequin was what caught her attention.

 This is good. Definetly better than most that i have seen. You made it yourself?

 Marinette flushed a little.

Ye-yeah! But it’s not that good. Just something to pass time. Not like its commissioned or something. N-no that’s not it. Oh Kwami!

 Can I commission something from you? I need a gift for mom in a few months so can you make me one. I’ll pay for it. You just have to tell me the advance for the material and I’ll pay you by the time you need to find the material and…..

 The knock on the door stopped their conversation and they realized their positions. (A/n: not like that you dirty minds. Get your heads out of the gutter)

 Kaylan was in her personal space, both hands on Marinette’s shoulder. They jumped back with loud apologies. Sabine entered with a smile carrying a tray of sweats.

 _I hope you enjoy. You can come anytime you want Kaylan. _

She gave a smile to her and a wink to her daughter. Both girls settle down to eat. Taking the first bite, Kaylan felt herself blown away.

This is soooooo gooood. I have never eaten something so tasty.

Marinette giggled and started telling or more like advertising and praising her parent’s bakery. Not that Kaylan minded that was so good that she had no problem admitting all.

Since Kaylan was new to Paris, Marinette told her about akuma and the Paris situation and how many things work. Though the things looked far-fetched but when she saw the video of a fight, it looked real. She had no choice but to ask about the do and don’t.

By the time they finished, they were returning school. They talked about minor things. then it turn towards Lila being liar and Kaylan telling her about jobs.

So, it was suppose to be a prank but Bryce thought it was funny to hug with all the paint dripping off him...…..

it was washable paint! We’re not that heartless!

…..and yet you still had to record. isn’t that...…..I don't know a disaster

In my defense, Cherami egged me on and i was feeling rather bored.

Kaylan, you did realize you worked with Bryce Papenbrook and Cherami Leigh.

Says the girl that designed for Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale.

Touché.

Since there was sometime before class, they decided to separate for the moment. Marinette wanted to check the art class and Kaylan turn towards bathroom. What they didn’t realize was the certain liar stalking the new girl.

When Lila opened the door, Kaylan was washing her hands. She locked the door, as quietly as possible. Not that she noticed the light twitch of her target’s lips. She knew or at least had an idea on what the Italian liar was going for.

Kaylan Fox, I’ll give you just one chance. Either you surrender or I’ll turn everyone against you.

Pfft!

A snort left her lips making the Italian surprise. Her laugh got louder until it was a full belly laugh.

For anyone outside it would be just a hearty laughter after listening to a really good joke. But Lila felt it. The insanity in that laugh. Suddenly she stopped and in a blink of an eye she was in her face. The cold sensation on her neck and pain in her scalp told her what actually happened.

The knife on her neck was like it came out of nowhere. She was being threatened. She was being threatened at the tip of the knife and by a new student no less. (here)

She wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t. She won’t get away with it.

Oh I can get away with it, darling. And I will.

That’s when Lila realized that she had said it out loud and worst is that she can’t get away from her predatory gaze.

But that’s not the problem is. The problem is that you, a mere fox dare to threaten me, a wolf.

That’s right. I, despite the name, am a wolf. I lurk in the shadows, play with my prey and when I get bore I kill it. You, a mere fox who had to hide behind a lion, is daring to threaten me. That’s funny. But don’t worry, I won’t kill you. It will be just a waste of my time and efforts.

She pushed her away and put the knife in her pocket, acting like she didn’t do anything wrong at all. Lila stayed pathetically on the floor.

I-I will tell everyone that you threaten me in the bathroom. And tried to attack me with a knife. When they search you, they will find it and you’ll be taken away as a murderer.

Oh! Will they? And do tell me how will they find it?

The gleam in her eye made her shudder. The angry response died on her tongue. She only made a few questioning noises. 

I mean they won’t find it, at least not on me. Do you know why? Because it will be in your bag.

What?

I can give you a lot of scenario. More than a hundred. Hmm……… how about a demo! You run out of bathroom yelling that I tried to kill you with a knife, the students will panic and try to run away. The distraction will be enough for me to put the knife in your bag. By the time authorities, come to search me they will find nothing and then I will just casually add that it must be some other person, they will get suspicious of you because you were so sure that it was me and the search turned to you. Then there will be a knife in your bag and you will yell that you are being framed. The police will start with finger prints and there will be none and with no choice they will start questioning...…..

….But that won’t be all. Just today in the class you were telling about how one of your uncle was in the military and he loved you so much that he taught those fancy moves because he didn’t wanted you to get hurt and I’m pretty sure it will casually be mentioned. and thus the suspicion will solidify. you will be treated as a villain or worse a murderer …. or a possible one in the future. I’m pretty sure you can imagine what could happen next?

Kaylan said with a smile, like she didn’t just turn the threat around. Lila grit her teeth but she couldn’t do anything. The story wasn’t too elaborative but the way this new girl was talking with her, she knew, she would also do it as she said.

Wait did she said one of the scenario? Were there more of it?

Lila didn’t stay for too long but she left rather quickly, nearly forgetting that she locked the door. Once she was gone, Kaylan looked at the stall from the corner of her eyes.

Aren’t you gonna come out? She’s gone now.

A moment pass and the stall door opened.

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